House Bill 140 Coming to a Floor Vote in 2022
In each legislative session since 2015, Representative Paul Baumbach has introduced legislation that would give terminally ill patients, if they desire it, more control over the end of their lives. If passed into law, the proposal would allow mentally competent, late-stage terminally ill patients the ability to request medication to end their own life on their own terms. Modeled after successful programs in Oregon and ten other states, the bills contain many safeguards against hasty decisions or abuse of the process.
In the 148th General Assembly (2015 - 2016), HB 150 providing "Death with Dignity" was introduced in May 2015 and did not get a committee hearing. In the 149th General Assembly (2017 - 2018) HB 160 "The Delaware End of Life Options Act" was introduced in May 2017 and was voted down in committee a month later. Two years later HB 140 in the 150th General Assembly (2019 - 2020) suffered the same fate.
The current incarnation, HB 140 in the 151st General Assembly (2021-2022) has been named "The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law" in memory of Ron Silverio and Heather Block, passionate advocates who passed away without this option becoming available to them. Rep. Baumbach Introduced the bill in June 2021, and it passed out of the House Health & Human Development committee on January 19, 2022 heading for its first ever floor vote.
The League of Women Voters of Delaware strongly supports this bill, and is offering both a presentation to learn more about it, and an "Action Alert" suggestion to contact your Representative in support prior to the floor vote, which is expected soon after the General Assembly reconvenes in early March.
Sussex League End of Life Options Presentation
The Social Policy Committee of the League of Women Voters of Sussex County is hosting a presentation by Compassion and Choices about their campaign to authorize medical aid in dying for Delaware residents, to be held via Zoom web conference on Thursday, February 24, 2022 from 7 to 8:30 pm.
Tim Appleton, Campaign Director, and Heather Pope, Campaign Organizer, will discuss HB 140, the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End-of-Life Options Act. This bill would allow terminally ill, mentally capable adults to request a prescription they can choose to take to bring a peaceful end to their suffering.
Register for this informative session here: LWVSC Presentation on HB140: Medical Aid in Dying
Advocacy Corps Action Alert for HB140
The LWVDE Advocacy Corps released the following Action Alert on Feb 14, 2022:
ACTION NEEDED TO GET THE BILL ONMEDICAL AID IN DYING / END OF LIFE OPTIONSPASSED IN THE HOUSE
HB 140, to authorize medical aid in dying, has been released from the House Committee and is expected to come to a vote on the House floor soon after the General Assembly reconvenes after its February recess.
We need you to contact your Representative to let him/her know your views on this issue. If s/he is on the fence or opposed, hearing from constituents could make all the difference. To find contact information (phone number and/or email address), go to:
https://legis.delaware.gov/Chambers/House/AssemblyMembers
As a reminder, here is the League’s policy position on this topic:
End of Life Options - Support for state laws that grant the option for a terminally ill person to request medical assistance from a relevant, licensed physician to end one’s life and that such legislation should include safeguards against abuse for the dying and/or medical personnel.
The bill before the Legislature conforms to the requirements of our policy.
Reasons to support this bill are many. For some, the issue revolves around the right to make one’s own decision about how to handle this most personal of circumstances. For others, this option hits home because of a personal or family situation. Another way to approach your Representative could be to share a video that tells a poignant Delaware-specific story. Here is that link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdScAz_ukys&t=133s
Whatever message feels right to you, we urge you to make the contact soon. And if you get a response, please let us know right away what the Representative’s view is so that future advocacy efforts can be targeted as appropriate.
Let’s get this bill into law!
The action alert, which spans Feb 14 to Feb 28, 2022, is signed by LWVDE Advocacy Corps Chair Linda Barnett and Health Care Portfolio Chair Joann Hasse.
