RICHMOND, Va. -- When Jennifer Wexton was elected to Congress in 2018 to serve Virginia’s 10th District, she never imagined a terminal illness would follow. The Democratic Congresswoman was diagnosed with Supra-Nuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that she describes as “Parkinson’s on steroids.”
At just 55 years of age, Wexton announced that she won’t seek re-election in 2024, as the progression of her disease has taken a toll on her body.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, Wexton’s close friend, Virginia State Senator Jennifer Boysko (D - Northern Virginia), tearfully read a statement from Wexton announcing her support for state legislation that would allow for medically assisted suicide for people suffering from terminal illnesses.
“It has robbed me, my family, and the many people in my life who I love and who love me so very much,” Wexton wrote. “If this bill becomes law in Virginia, it would return the control over when, where and how our stories end to us, not the diseases.”
House Bill 858 and Senate Bill 280 would give mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live the option to obtain a doctor’s prescription for medication that would peacefully end their lives. The legislation would require that the medication be administered by the patients themselves.
State Senator Ghazala Hashami (D - Chesterfield County), who is carrying the senate bill, said the legislation offers compassion and dignity for dying individuals.
“So many individuals have shared with me the kind of suffering they experienced on behalf of their loved one and to see that pain intensify and have no real recourse, has been a primary reason why so many patients, as well as family members, want to see legislation,” Hashami said.
While ten states and the District of Columbia have medically assisted suicide laws, opponents of the legislation, including Nichole Davis, said studies show many terminally ill patients make decisions based on fears of the unknown or loss of control.
Davis, who represents the Virginia Association for Centers for Independent Living, said hospice already offers compassionate assistance to terminally ill patients.
“I’m concerned about it being a hard battle to get people to understand what options are out there,” Davis said. “Will death be the option that is presented rather than how they can live and thrive, even if it’s only for six months, and what that would look like?”
Victoria Cobb with the Family Foundation also released a statement Monday evening.
"Last year, this measure was defeated by legislators of both political parties because it corrupts the patient-physician relationship and incentivizes insurance companies to abandon coverage of life-saving measures to save money. This year's narrowly divided legislature should reject it again,” Cobb wrote.
Hashami said the legislation does not force any hospital or physician to participate in assisted suicides if it goes against ethical or moral beliefs held by an individual or medical institution.
The legislation goes before both Senate and House subcommittees on Tuesday.
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