Updated at 7:22 p.m.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige has signed a bill into law that would allow terminally ill patients to request prescriptions from doctors to end their lives, making it the seventh state to have such a law on the books.
The Our Care Our Choice Act will permit the practice, referred to by proponents as “aid in dying,” beginning on Jan. 1, 2019.
“We know that our loved ones will eventually die, but they don’t need to suffer,” Ige, a Democrat, said in a ceremony for the bill’s signing, reflecting on the lives of loved ones who had painful, terminal illnesses.
Hawaii will join California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia in legalizing the practice. Montana doesn’t have a specific law on the books, but the state Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that doctors could use a patient’s request for fatal medication as a defense against criminal charges.
The move was praised by the organization Compassion and Choices, which has advocated for the passage of these laws at the state level.
“There are terminally ill people in Hawaii right now who need this law, so it is urgent for doctors and healthcare systems to understand this compassionate medical practice and respect the decisions of terminally ill individuals who want this option for the comfort and peace of mind it brings to them,” said Kat West, national director of policy and programs for the organization.
State laws allowing doctors to prescribe fatal medications generally require that two healthcare providers confirm that a patient would otherwise die within six months and that the patient is able to make his own decisions. A counselor has to sign off that a patient does not have depression. Patients are required to ingest the medication on their own, and a doctor does not need to be present.
“We have gotten to a point in our community in which it does make sense to give a patient the choice to request the medication, obtain it, and take it, or otherwise change their mind if they choose to,” Ige said.
The governor signed the bill, despite receiving a petition signed by 18,000 people opposing the measure. Opponents say they are concerned about vulnerable populations being targeted and taken advantage of.
“Today is a tragic day for all Hawaiians, but especially people who are poor, elderly, or have disabilities because they will be the first to suffer from this reckless law allowing assisted suicide in their state,” said Matt Valliere, executive director of Patients Rights Action Fund, a group that advocates against expanding aid-in-dying laws. “For them, the ‘right’ to die will quickly become a duty to die because of a lack resources or the need for expensive healthcare. This public policy is unfair to the most vulnerable members of society who instead deserve our support and protection.”
