On October 5, 2016 the Committee on Health and Human Services of the Council of the District of Columbia approved an important assisted dying bill. With their 3-2 markup vote, Councilmembers took a crucial step to providing District residents with more autonomy in their final days. The bill now moves to the full Council for a vote on October 18.
The bill markup comes on the heels of Washington Post’s repeated endorsement of the legislation. As the Council Committee prepared to vote on the bill this year, the Post interviewed us again and, last Saturday, endorsed the bill once more. “Hopefully council members will be guided by the experience of states that have been pioneers in the death-with-dignity movement. They have carefully crafted laws giving the terminally ill control over the timing and manner of their death while putting in place safeguards to prevent abuse and medical mistakes,” the Post’s editors write in their measured, reasoned opinion. “The District should add its name to the list of places that offer their citizens compassion and control at life’s end.”
(from DwD National Center Newsletter)