Arizona lawmakers reject bill to legalize assisted suicide

Arizona lawmakers have dismissed a rejuvenated attempt to legalize assisted suicide, dealing a setback to its proponents in the state.

Key Takeaways:

• House Bill 2569 would have legalized assisted suicide for adults diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months or less to live.

• The bill was not scheduled for a hearing in an Arizona House committee.

• Concerns about coercion and oversight reportedly led to the bill's defeat.

The Details:

House Bill 2569 — also referred to as the Thomas M. Dow Act — did not move forward in the Arizona Legislature this session, and it was not scheduled for a hearing in a House committee. The bill, put forth by State Representative Christopher Mathis (D-LD18), sought to allow mentally competent adults diagnosed with a terminal illness and given a prognosis of six months or less to procure a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. According to the measure, the medication would have needed to be self-administered orally.

In Arizona, concerns about coercion and inadequate oversight contributed to the bill’s defeat. Lawmakers raised questions about how eligibility criteria would be enforced and whether vulnerable individuals could be influenced by family members, financial considerations, or systemic health care inequalities.

For over 20 years, Arizona legislators have considered similar measures. The initial proposal harkens back to 2003, and just once, in 2017, did such a bill clear a committee stage, but it did not receive support. This latest bill was reportedly backed by groups funded by George Soros.

According to existing Arizona law, assisting someone in taking their own life may give rise to criminal charges under the state’s manslaughter provisions, as elucidated in A.R.S. § 13-1103. In addition, A.R.S. § 36-3210 explicitly clarifies that the law does not condone or permit suicide, assisted suicide, or mercy killing.

Behind The Scenes:

The California Globe noted that lobbying records compiled by OpenSecrets show that Compassion & Choices, a national organization that calls for the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia, has been involved in promoting end-of-life policy initiatives at both the state and federal levels:

Compassion & Choices, which supports MAID legislation nationwide, has received funding from organizations associated with philanthropist George Soros, according to a 2016 report by Capital Research Center.

The report states that Soros-affiliated entities, including the Open Society Institute and the Foundation to Promote Open Society, provided more than $7 million to the group beginning in 2008.

The Context:

The differences between assisted suicide, euthanasia, and palliative care are often conflated by the media, leaving the public confused and unclear about what each of these entails.

As Live Action News noted in an article discussing the differences between assisted suicide, euthanasia, and palliative care:

Though end-of-life care has been debated for decades, well-meaning Americans have been misled by those who intentionally conflate palliative care with euthanasia and assisted suicide — but only one of these options is ethical. 

Some U.S. states have in recent years passed legislation allowing doctors to become both killers and suicide accomplices. While marketed to the public as a "compassionate" way to help people facing so-called "terminal" diagnoses, behind the scenes, health insurance companies and governments have touted how "assisted dying" saves them money. 

Read about the differences in this article:

GET THE FACTS: Euthanasia, assisted suicide, and palliative care are not the same

The Big Picture:

Reports from states such as Oregon and Washington have demonstrated that many patients who request life-ending drugs cite fears of being a liability to others as a primary motivation. Pro-life advocates argue that this underscores underlying social pressures that cannot be adequately addressed through legislative safeguards.

At present, 'assisted dying' is authorized in the District of Columbia and 10 states: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Pro-assisted suicide laws in states such as New York, Illinois, and Delaware are poised to take effect in 2026, which will raise the total number of states enabling the practice to 13.