Another US state legalized euthanasia: there are already eight such countries

Staff Menn 12 June legalized euthanasia, becoming the eighth state that allowed mortally ill people to commit suicide with the help of a doctor.

Фото: Depositphotos

Representing the Democratic Party, Governor of Maine Janet Mills signed the Death Act with Dignity, allowing doctors to prescribe medicines that would lead to their death to terminally ill patients, writes USA Today.

The first state to legalize such a procedure was Oregon, where this decision was made two decades ago. Similar laws also have California, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Washington, New Jersey and the District of Columbia.

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The law of the state of Maine states that the receipt or provision of death-leading drugs will not qualify as suicide in accordance with state law.

Many residents of the region, whose average age is higher than in other US states, welcomed the decision of the governor.

Stacy Fowler remembered how her late friend Rebecca Van Wormer fought for the adoption of such a law four years ago. Van Wormer, who suffered from breast cancer that spread to her bones, died in the 2017 year.

“This is what she would like to do. And now everyone has a choice that she didn’t have,” Fowler said.

In order to be eligible for euthanasia, a patient aged 18 must go through two waiting periods, submit one written and two oral requests for lethal medications and get a conclusion from two doctors that he really needs a lethal dose of medication (i.e. that his illness is fatal and incurable). Physicians should also examine patients for conditions that may impair their sanity, including a variety of mental disorders, including depression.

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Attempts to pass a law on euthanasia in the state by universal suffrage of its residents failed, and moreover, at least seven attempts to approve the bill in the state legislature failed. Opponents of this idea say that such a policy puts mortally ill people at risk of abuse.

“Physician-assisted suicide is a dangerous policy that puts the most vulnerable people in society at risk of abuse, coercion and error. It also provides incentives for profit-driven insurance companies to offer customers a quick death rather than costly, ongoing quality care,” said Matt Valliere, executive director of the Patient Action Fund.

The bill defines a "deadly disease" as one that is incurable and, according to doctors, will end in death within six months. The document also provides for criminal liability for attempting to force someone to request euthanasia.

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