California Assisted Suicide Bill Euthanized as Backers Short on Votes (CA euthanasia alert)

Life News ^

[Princip. Conservative]

Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) -- A bill in the California legislature that would have made the state the second to legalize the practice of assisted suicide is dead for the year. Backers of the bill pulled it from consideration Thursday when they realized they did not have enough votes to get it approved by a Friday deadline.

The bill has already received approval from a state Assembly committee but did not have enough votes to make it through the full Assembly.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez ended up abandoning the effort and claimed he couldn't find enough support for AB 374 as it has been "very difficult because of the way the issue has been demonized by the religious right."

Tim Rosales, a spokesman for Californians Against Assisted Suicide, told the media that "It's just not something that legislators are comfortable with, given all the red flags."

Groups opposed to the bill said they were elated by the news but vowed to keep fighting it since backers said they were going to try to round up more votes for another try next year.

"Doctors should be healers, not killers," Campaign for Children and Families president Randy Thomasson told LifeNews.com. "Jack Kevorkian may be on the loose again, but the defeat of this suicide bill means 'Dr. Death' won't be employed in California anytime soon."

The measure would allow adults who are diagnosed with less than six months to live to ask a physician for the drugs to kill themselves.

-- SNIP --

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger previously indicated he would veto the bill and said he preferred the voters to decide the fate of assisted suicide in the state. But he did not indicate what exactly he would have done.

[Princip. Conservative]

Interesting news. The same legislature that votes to legalize gay marriage votes doesn't have the votes to legalize Oregon-style physician-assisted suicide. Not that it would be legal, because Arnold would veto it.