Latest news with #Compassion&Choices
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Kansas law nullifying end-of-life wishes during pregnancy challenged in court
A Kansas state law that revokes a person's decisions about end-of-life care if they are pregnant is now being challenged in court. Three women, one of whom is currently pregnant, and two doctors filed a lawsuit in Kansas over a clause in the state's Natural Death Act that denies people who are pregnant with the ability to accept or refuse health care if they become incapacitated or terminally ill. The plaintiffs argue that the clause violates their rights to liberty and personal autonomy and infringes their right to privacy. Emma Vernon, the plaintiff who is currently pregnant, wrote an advance health care directive outlining the care she would like to receive if she is diagnosed with a terminal condition. Vernon said she would like to only accept life-sustaining treatment if 'there is a reasonable medical certainty' that her child would reach full term and be born 'with a meaningful prospect of sustained life' and without health conditions that would 'impair its quality of life,' according to the lawsuit. But her directive has not been 'given the same deference the law affords to others who complete directives because of the Pregnancy Exclusion,' the lawsuit argues. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach's (R) office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill about the lawsuit. All states have laws that give people the right to craft advance directives on the health care they would like to receive if they become unable to make their own health decisions. And many of those laws have caveats excluding pregnant people, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the lawsuit's filing. Kansas is one of nine states with a law that invalidates an advanced directive of a pregnant patient regardless of if the fetus can survive, according to Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization that advocates for end-of-life care. The doctors who joined the lawsuit filed Thursday say the law forces them to provide pregnant patients with a lower standard of care than other patients and opens them up to civil and criminal lawsuits and professional penalties. Compassion & Choices, along with the abortion and reproductive rights lawyer group If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice and the law firm Irigonegaray & Revenaugh, filed the lawsuit on behalf of all five plaintiffs. End-of-life care laws have come under scrutiny recently amid reports of a brain-dead pregnant woman in Georgia whose family says doctors are keeping on life support until her baby can be delivered to abide by the state's abortion ban. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Health
- The Hill
Kansas law disregarding end-of-life wishes during pregnancy challenged in court
A Kansas state law that revokes a person's decisions about end-of-life care if they are pregnant is now being challenged in court. Three women, one of whom is currently pregnant, and two doctors filed a lawsuit in Kansas over a clause in the state's Natural Death Act that denies people who are pregnant with the ability to accept or refuse health care if they become incapacitated or terminally ill. The plaintiffs argue that the clause violates their rights to liberty and personal autonomy and infringes their right to privacy. Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here Emma Vernon, the plaintiff who is currently pregnant, wrote an advance health care directive outlining the care she would like to receive if she is diagnosed with a terminal condition. Vernon said she would like to only accept life-sustaining treatment if 'there is a reasonable medical certainty' that her child would reach full term and be born 'with a meaningful prospect of sustained life' and without health conditions that would 'impair its quality of life,' according to the lawsuit. But her directive has not been 'given the same deference the law affords to others who complete directives because of the Pregnancy Exclusion,' the lawsuit argues. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach's (R) office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill about the lawsuit. All states have laws that give people the right to craft advance directives on the health care they would like to receive if they become unable to make their own health decisions. And many of those laws have caveats excluding pregnant people, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the lawsuit's filing. Kansas is one of nine states with a law that invalidates an advanced directive of a pregnant patient regardless of if the fetus can survive, according to Compassion & Choices, a nonprofit organization that advocates for end-of-life care. The doctors who joined the lawsuit filed Thursday say the law forces them to provide pregnant patients with a lower standard of care than other patients and opens them up to civil and criminal lawsuits and professional penalties. Compassion & Choices, along with the abortion and reproductive rights lawyer group If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice and the law firm Irigonegaray & Revenaugh, filed the lawsuit on behalf of all five plaintiffs. End-of-life care laws have come under scrutiny recently amid reports of a brain-dead pregnant woman in Georgia whose family says doctors are keeping on life support until her baby can be delivered to abide by the state's abortion ban.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New York bill would allow terminally ill patients to end their lives
NEW YORK (PIX11) – A bill that will help terminally ill patients end their lives is set to pass the New York State Assembly, according to Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. Assembly Bill A136, known as the Medical Aid in Dying Act, would allow terminally ill adults to request a prescription for medication they can ingest to die in their sleep, according to the bill. More Local News 'Passing this bill is about love, compassion, and reducing needless suffering,' Paulin said. 'No one should have to endure agony when there is a better, humane choice available.' To be eligible for prescribed aid in dying, patients need a terminal illness verified by two doctors and must have six months or less to live. They must verbally request and submit a written request that is witnessed by two individuals who are unrelated to them or their care facility. Witnesses cannot have a financial interest in the estate, according to the bill. At the time of ingestion, patients must be able to self-administer the medication, ensuring a voluntary choice. Physicians also must inform patients about all available end-of-life care options, including hospice and palliative care. Paulin stated terminally ill New Yorkers deserve autonomy, dignity, and peace at the end of life. Oregon became the first state in 1994 to legalize aid in dying. Currently, medical aid in dying is legal in California, Maine, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., Colorado, Montana, Washington, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Vermont. All these states have aid-in-dying bills, according to Compassion & Choices. Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers weigh whether to legalize ‘medical aid in dying'
CHICAGO — Lawmakers are considering legalizing a controversial medical practice that proponents say could ease suffering for the terminally ill. It's sometimes called 'assisted suicide,' although physicians and advocates for the practice prefer the term 'medical aid in dying,' or MAID. While Compassion & Choices — a group that advocates for medical aid in dying policies — found a majority of Illinois voters supported legalizing MAID in a 2023 poll, some critics call the process 'barbaric.' The measure, contained in Senate Bill 9, is being backed by Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, who told her Senate colleagues at a hearing Friday that she supports the proposal because of her parents' deaths. Both her mother and father died after extended battles with cancer. 'You think the toughest thing you go through is watching somebody die, and you know what? It's not,' Holmes said. 'It's not as tough as watching somebody you love suffer and there's nothing you can do to ease that suffering. That is the hardest thing I've ever gone through.' Holmes' proposal would legalize MAID — a process where a doctor prescribes but does not administer a lethal combination of drugs — for patients whose doctors determine have less than six months to live due to a terminal illness. The patient then administers the drugs on their own at a time of their choosing. The bill contains several safeguards to prevent abuse, according to its proponents, including a waiting period to receive a prescription, a requirement that the patient receive a terminal diagnosis from two doctors, a requirement that patients prescribed lethal medication have sufficient 'mental capacity.' Friday's meeting of the powerful Senate Executive Committee was a 'subject matter' hearing, meaning no vote was taken. The bill will need more committee hearings, a vote in both legislative chambers and approval by the governor before becoming law. Ten other states and Washington, D.C., have all legalized some form of medical aid in dying. Oregon was the first state to legalize MAID in 1994. Advocates for the proposal include patients with terminal illnesses, people whose loved ones used the procedure in other states and doctors who specialize in end-of-life care. In 2022, Deb Robertson of Lombard was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma — a rare and aggressive form of liver cancer. She asked lawmakers to give her 'permission' to take her own life. 'It would give me the option to die peacefully and on my own terms,' Robertson said. 'There's a level of comfort in that.' Diana Barnard, a doctor in Vermont who offers MAID prescriptions, said most patients have 'a very clear understanding' of what's an acceptable quality of life as they approach death. 'We have now 27 years of national experience with the practice that really shows these laws are working well,' Barnard said. But the medical practice is controversial among doctors and disability activists. Benjamin German, a doctor on the West Side of Chicago, said the 'problem' with the bill was its safeguards. 'For some of my patients, these safeguards will be just tight enough for lawmakers to assume things will be okay and amply generous to allow abuse to happen,' German said. 'People and organizations looking for ways to exploit this law, I fear, will find a way.' Disability advocates, meanwhile, say they worry about medical professionals mischaracterizing illnesses as terminal, misdiagnosing people or pushing vulnerable or marginalized people to consider ending their own life. 'As someone with a disability myself – I use a wheelchair – I can say firsthand that my life is often viewed as something to pity and not something to cherish,' Riley Spreadbury, an independent living advocate from Joliet, said. 'It's sentiments like these that make me incredibly concerned regarding Senate Bill 9.' MAID is also opposed by groups that express a 'consistent life ethic,' meaning they object to abortion, capital punishment, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. Those groups include the Catholic Church and non-religious groups such as Illinois Right to Life. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
