HARTFORD — The Democratic leadership of the Judiciary Committee has decided not to take up the controversial legislation that would have allowed physicians to prescribe drugs for terminally ill patients, diagnosed with six months to live, to use to hasten their own deaths. It’s a victory for the Catholic Church’s campaign against the legislation. Tim Appleton, state director of Compassion and Choices Connecticut, which lobbied for the bill, said he was disappointed.
“Each year that lawmakers fail to act prolongs the suffering for thousands of terminally ill Connecticut residents and the people who love them,” he said in a statement. “About 7,000 people will die from cancer this year in Connecticut without having this choice, and many will endure painful deaths. They should have the choice, to die peacefully, with dignity, and on their terms. Civil rights issues such as gay marriage took many years to gain approval in Connecticut, and today the majority of people cannot imagine a time when marriage equality was not fully accepted here. Today, 63 percent of Connecticut voters support aid-in-dying, up from previous years, and it spans political parties, age and gender, according to the Quinnipiac Poll. We believe that, like gay marriage and other issues of personal choice, aid in dying will continue to gain support. This legislation is supported by thoughtful people, including editorial boards at major Connecticut newspapers. We know that aid-in-dying policy works. There is a combined 30 years of experience in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana proving that the fears opponents have raised have never come to pass. The Church lobby has a history of driving fear of change, and they are spending an incredible amount of funds trying to do just that in Connecticut.Aid in dying will one day become the law in Connecticut. Over the last three years, we have built a statewide coalition and legislative support that grows and expands each year. Though the bill will not move further forward this year we will continue our campaign to engage and educate.”
But state Sen. Mike McLachlan, R-Danbury, says he’s glad majority leaders on the Judiciary Committee have dropped the bill for this session. “I think it’s a good decision,” he said. “The Republicans are focused like a laser beam, searching for ways to address the state’s financial disaster. I am very much opposed to physician-assisted-suicide. I’m relieve we don’t have to spend any more time on it.”