Later this week the Public Health Committee may or may not debate legislation that would allow a terminally ill patient with six months to live to take their own life. Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, said he doesn’t know yet if he has the votes. If he finds that he does have the votes, the bill will be on the agenda Friday. Steinberg said at the moment he doesn’t have a vote count and was unable to say if a majority of the 25 committee members would support it…
Meanwhile, opponents have been working hard to create doubt about the legislation, which has never made it out of the Public Health Committee. Opponents like Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said the doubt some lawmakers have is for good reason. Wolfgang pointed to new testimony submitted by the Division of Criminal Justice, which expresses concerns about “falsifying a death certificate.”
The division headed by Chief State Attorney Kevin Kane said his agency takes no position on the concept, but worries the bill could have “unintended and very unwelcome consequences.” The legislation as currently written says, “The person signing the qualified patient’s death certificate shall list the underlying terminal illness as the cause of death.” The division worries that it becomes problematic and would prevent them from moving forward with a “murder prosecution where the cause of death is not accurately reported on the death certificate.”
Read more at CT Post…