RICHMOND, Va. β A bill which would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients in Virginia with less than six months to live failed to advance in a full Senate committee Thursday morning.
SB359, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax), advanced to the full Senate committee after the Senate Health subcommittee heard testimony from both opponents and supporters Tuesday during debate.
"We know that when someone knows that they're going to be dying, they want to have some control over how it's done," Boysko said.
The measure, which is sometimes called physician-assisted suicide or death with dignity, is legal in 12 other states and Washington, D.C.
Opponents, including the Medical Society of Virginia, expressed concerns based on data from Oregon's program showing that losing autonomy and being a burden on family ranked as higher concerns for patients than pain. They argued the legislation sends the wrong message to society and will impact how doctors do their job.
"When the state affirms assisted suicide, the message heard by our vulnerable patients is, 'Yes, you are a burden. Yes, you are less valuable. And yes, you are better off dead.' That's not dignity, that's despair codified into law," an opponent testified.
Ultimately, the bill failed to advance on a 7-8 vote. Sen. Lashrecse Aird (D-Petersburg) and Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico), voted with Republicans to kill the bill.
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