A bill to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill patients was passed by a legislative committee in Senate on Tuesday. The bill, brought to the table by a 13-member committee comprising mostly liberal members, passed with a 10-2 vote. One of the lawmakers was absent.
A similar bill had earlier failed to pass in the state assembly.
However, senators reintroduced physician-assisted suicide in a special legislative session which was originally called regarding Medi-Cal by Governor Jerry Brown.
Spokesperson for Governor, Deborah Hoffman, said that the special session was not an appropriate place to debate the issue of assisted suicide.
"We're shocked that they would use this legislative maneuver to jam through a bill that's clearly a life and death matter for Californians," Marilyn Golden, senior policy analyst at Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund was quoted as saying by KQED News.
The bill will now move to the assembly finance committee.
A supporter and co-author of the bill, Senator Bill Monning, told Reuters, "The more time we've had to work on it, the more support we have. Every major newspaper in the state has editorialized in support."
In 2014, a 29-year-old cancer patient, Brittany Maynard, relocated to Oregon to commit physician-assisted suicide, which is legal in the state.
Many doctors, secular and religious NGOs have protested the assisted suicide bill. Disability groups also argue that sick patients might be led into physician assisted deaths by uncaring relatives to avoid high medical costs and insurance deficits.
Californians Against Assisted Suicide released a statement in which 32-year-old Stephanie Packer, suffering from a terminal illness said, "Unfortunately this vote sends a message to people like me that suicide is a preferred option."
Groups opposing the controversial bill are: Californians Against Assisted Suicide, the American Medical Association, American College of Pediatricians, American Geriatrics Society, American Nursing Association, California Family Alliance, California Catholic Conference, California Disability Alliance, Berkeley Commission on Disability, and Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
