Update: Governor Brown signs end of life option act
Update posted Oct. 6
Sen. Bill Monning
– On Oct. 5, Governor Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act, coauthored by Paso Robles’ state senator Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which provides mentally-capable, terminally-ill Californians with the option to request a doctor’s prescription for aid-in-dying medication. This second extraordinary session bill was modeled after senators Lois Wolk (D-Davis) and Monning’s Senate Bill (SB) 128 and continued the effort to enact the End of Life Option Act in California this year.
“I am comforted knowing that terminally ill Californians will now be able to exercise this right in California,” Monning said. “As California becomes the fifth state to allow aid-in-dying, the real victory is for those who have fought so valiantly to establish this right for individuals faced with difficult end of life decisions, as Brittany Maynard did. I am proud to have fought alongside such courageous people as Brittany’s family, Christy O’Donnell, Jennifer Glass, Dr. Robert Olvera, and so many other families.”
Assembly Bill (AB) X2 15, authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and coauthored by senators Monning and Wolk, allows terminally-ill individuals to obtain a prescription from their physician for medication to be self-administered to end their own lives. Two physicians must confirm a prognosis of six months or less, a written request and two oral requests must be made by the terminally-ill patient a minimum of 15 days apart and two witnesses must attest to the request.
“I am thankful that after careful deliberation, Governor Brown agrees that this is an important option needed for terminally ill individuals,” Monning said. “The Governor’s signature allows Californians to determine the quality of their final days of life based on their own personal beliefs, and I am confident that many terminally ill Californians and their families will welcome the ability to consider this option for a compassionate and peaceful transition.”
According to a recent study conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, 76 percent of Californians polled support aid-in-dying medication for terminally ill individuals.
ABX2 15 will be enacted 91 days after the second extraordinary session is adjourned.
Original story posted Sept. 5
Local senator’s act will head to assembly floor
– On Friday, a bill coauthored by Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel), Paso Robles’ state senator, passed out of the Assembly Committee on Finance on a five to three vote and is now headed to the assembly floor.
This newly introduced bill will continue the effort to pass the End of Life Option Act in California this year.
“I am very appreciative of my Assembly colleagues for supporting this important legislation,” Monning said. “This bill will give terminally ill Californians the option to determine the quality of their final days of life based on their own personal beliefs. Over 75 percent of Californians support this bill, and it is an issue that deserves to be considered by the entire Legislature.”
Authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) and coauthored by Senators Monning and Lois Wolk (D-Davis), ABX2 15 was introduced last month and is nearly identical to SB 128, coauthored by Senators Monning and Wolk. ABX2 15 would provide mentally-capable, terminally-ill adults with the option to request a doctor’s prescription for aid-in-dying medication. According to a new study conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, 76 percent of Californians polled support aid-in-dying medication for terminally ill individuals.
In late July 2015, a challenge to the state’s ban on aid-in-dying filed by three terminally-ill Californians, including end of life option supporter Christy O’Donnell, was dismissed by a Superior Court judge who stated that it was the responsibility of the legislature, not the courts, to change the law. This is one of two recent Superior Court rulings that emphasize it is the role of the state legislature to overturn California’s ban on aid-in-dying.
Should ABX2 15 pass off of the Assembly Floor, the bill would return to the senate for concurrence. This past Tuesday, the bill passed out of the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee on a 10 to three vote with bipartisan support.
Senator Monning was elected in 2012 to represent the 17th Senate District, which includes all of San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties, and portions of Monterey and Santa Clara counties. Senator Monning previously served in the California State Assembly for two terms. Prior to being an elected official, Monning was a professor at the Monterey College of Law and a Professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.
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