Monterey, CA Right To Die Bill Introduced By Senator Bill Monning

Senator Bill Monning has introduced a controversial bill called the End of Life Option Act, a right-to-die bill which would allow people who are terminally ill to die when they are ready.  The Carmel resident held a joint press conference with the co-author of the bill, Senator Lois Wolk, along with the family of Brittany Maynard who moved from California to Oregon last year because they do have a right-to-die bill.  After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer she decided to end her life.  However, in California, helping someone end their life, even if they are terminal, is a felony.  “Our hope is to see the end-of-life option as part of a continuum of established rights available to patients,” said Monning, who is married to a physician and said he has “watched close friends suffer through their final days.” The bill would allow doctors in California to prescribe a lethal dose of medications under certain circumstances. In 1992, voters rejected Proposition 161 which would have legalized physician-assisted dying and another bill failed in 2007.  But with momentum for this right growing in many states, the time may be right for California to join the ranks of Oregon, Mexico, Montana and Vermont where the terminally ill can legally end their own lives.