After the Delaware General Assembly passed HB140, the Ron Silverio / Heather Block End of Life Options bill, last June, Governor Carney vetoed it. Our League had supported it strongly for years, only to find ourselves back at ‘square 1’ with our new General Assembly. LWVDE remains committed to the passage of HB 140, humane legislation which will allow each of us to make personal, voluntary decisions about the care we receive at the end of our life.
In its hearing in the House Health and Human Development Committee on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, this year’s HB140 passed with 5 Favorable votes, 3 On Its Merits, and 1 Unfavorable. The bill will now advance to the house floor. The primary sponsor of the bill is Rep. Eric Morrison, taking over from retired Rep. Paul Baumbach who championed this issue for many years.
The bill details are available here: https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail?LegislationId=141725
Our League testimony on it can be read here: HB 140 - Medical Aid in Dying - January 2025.pdf
"Medical-aid in dying is not me choosing to die. . . I am going to die. But it is my way of having a little bit more control over what it looks like in the end.”—Deb Robertson, terminally ill with cancer, explaining to her 17-year-old grandson why she supports Medical Aid in Dying
In 2020, Compassion and Choices conducted a poll and discovered that 75% of Delaware’s residents support this legislation. Their 2022 survey of Delaware physicians showed that 66.7% “somewhat or strongly supported” it, 19.7% somewhat or strongly opposed, and 13.6% neither supported nor opposed it.
Addressing concerns of some members of the disability community
With respect to concerns of some members of the disability community, HB 140 has the following safeguards: 1) two physicians or advanced practice nurses (APRNs) must confirm that an individual who is voluntarily seeking medical aid in dying (MAiD) has a terminal illness, with a prognosis of 6 months or less to live; 2) the individual must request the treatment themselves and be able to self-administer it. There are many other safeguards in the bill, carefully crafted to ensure the option is available only to those who truly want it. All of the safeguards pertain equally to individuals with or without disabilities.
Many people living with a disability support MAiD legislation as much, or more, than those without a disability. In a 2023 national poll, 79% of U.S. residents who self-identified as having a disability agreed that “medical aid in dying (MAID) should be legal for terminally ill, mentally capable adults who choose to self-ingest medication to die peacefully.”
“I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their lives and those that help them should be free from prosecution.”
— Stephen Hawking, Renowned Cosmologist and theoretical physicist, who lived with Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“Based on my 23 years of clinical practice, as a person with a disability, and as an individual whose family members have experienced very difficult end-of-life challenges, I am in strong support of authorizing medical aid in dying.”
— Dr. Seth Morgan, Board-Certified fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, leader for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and chair of Montgomery County’s Commission on People with Disabilities.
The LWVDE Advocacy Corps believes that the overwhelming support for MAiD among Delaware’s residents and physicians, and nationally among members of the disability community, demonstrates that it deserves the support of our elected representatives.
