Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, signed a bill on Tuesday that legalizes physician-assisted suicides for certain terminally ill patients, claiming the measure was about “compassion, dignity and respect for personal choices.”
The terminal-of-life options law, effective next year, will allow mentally competent adults who are diagnosed with terminal illness and can request a self-control prescription within six months and live to end their lives.
“We acknowledge that compassion is important today, even in the last moments of life,” Meyer said in signing the bill. “All Derawaren should have the right to face the final chapter in peace, dignity and control.”
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Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has signed a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicides for some terminally ill patients. (Government of Matt Meyer/Facebook)
“This signature today is to ease the suffering and give the family the comfort of knowing that their loved ones can pass their conditions without unnecessary pain and that they are surrounded by the people they love most,” he continued.
Delaware is now the 11th state that allows deaths to California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Washington, DC has also allowed doctors to commit suicide.
“Today, Delaware is joining more and more states, recognizing that terminal decisions belong to patients. They are not politicians,” Meyer said. “This law is about compassion, dignity and respect. It faces people who face unimaginable people, the ability to choose peace and comfort surrounded by those they love. After years of discussion, I am proud to be able to sign the law on HB 140.”
The Life Options Act will come into effect next year. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Several other countries, including Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, have also legalized so-called death with dignity.
The Delaware legislature slightly rejected the measure last year, but Meyer pushed for the session and passed it last month. The governor's signature now concludes nearly a decade of discussion on the issue.
Under a new law sponsored by Democratic State Rep. Eric Morrison, patients considering state suicide assisted suicide should be presented with other options for end-of-life care, including comfort care, palliative care, hospice and pain management. The bill requires two waiting periods and a second medical opinion on the patient's prognosis before obtaining a prescription for a fatal drug.
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Delaware is now the 11th state that allows medical aid to die. (Getty Images)
Brian Townsend, the majority leader of Democrat state senators, said the law was “about celebrating the autonomy and humanity of unimaginable people suffering from terminal illnesses.”
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“This law exists for the courage of patients, their families and supporters who share a deep, personal story of love, loss and suffering,” he said in a statement.
