A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe deadly drugs to terminally ill patients in Virginia was rejected by the full state Senate committee on Thursday morning with the help of two Democrats.
The bill, SB359, failed to advance out of committee with a 7-8 vote, WTVR reported. Democrat state Sens. Lashrecse Aird and Schuyler VanValkenburg sided with Republicans to kill the assisted suicide bill.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax), would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients in Virginia who have less than six months to live.
“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 bill had advanced to the full Senate committee after the Senate Health subcommittee heard debate and testimonies on Tuesday from opponents and supporters.
Opponents included the Medical Society of Virginia, which pointed to data from Oregon’s program showing that patients ranked losing autonomy and being a burden to family as more concerning than their pain.
“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, according to the local outlet.
Illinois, Delaware, Vermont, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, New Jersey, Montana, Maine, Hawaii, Colorado, California, and Washington, DC, allow physicians to enable certain individuals to commit suicide. New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to sign similar legislation after sending an assisted suicide bill back to the state legislature for changes in December of last year.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.