Maine lawmakers pass bill allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives

The Maine state House has passed legislation that would allow physicians to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients who want to end their lives.

According to the Portland Press Herald, the state House passed the bill by a narrow vote of 72-68 on Tuesday with support and opposition cutting across party lines.

Under the bill, called the Maine Death with Dignity Act, patients at least 18 years old can request lethal prescriptions if a doctor has determined he or she to be suffering from a terminal disease and has less than six months to live.

However, the bill has a number of qualifications a patient would be required to meet before their request is granted.

Consulting physicians would need to assess the patient’s competency to determine if they “may be suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired judgment.” If the patient is determined to be suffering from a disorder, the physician is required to refer the patient to counseling.

“Medication to end a patient's life in a humane and dignified manner may not be prescribed until the person performing the counseling determines that the patient is not suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired judgment,” the bill states.

After the adult is determined competent, he or she must “make a written request for medication that the adult may self-administer in accordance” with the bill.

A valid request must be “signed and dated by the patient and witnessed by at least 2 individuals who, in the presence of the patient, attest that to the best of their knowledge and belief the patient is competent, is acting voluntarily and is not being coerced to sign the request,” the bill states.

The bill says the terminal disease the patient is suffering from in such cases has to be “incurable and irreversible” as well as “medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within 6 months.”

The bill now heads to the state senate for consideration.

It arrives on the heels of a similar piece of legislation that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said he would approve back in March that would allow terminally ill patients the right to end their lives.

If the legislation becomes law, Maine would become the eighth jurisdiction in the U.S. to have a "death with dignity" act.

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Maine lawmakers pass bill allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives