Lawmakers have once again defeated a bill which would legalize assisted suicide in Virginia, even as it has been legalized in other states across the country.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi was tabled by a House committee until the 2025 session, ending its chances of being passed this year. The bill had already been approved in a Senate vote, though similar legislation repeatedly failed in previous years. The deciding factor in the Senate was an endorsement from United States Representative Jennifer Wexton, a former Virginia state senator. Wexton announced in 2023 that she would not seek reelection after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative disease.
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“If this bill becomes law in Virginia, it would return the control over to when, where and how our stories end, not to the diseases,” she wrote in a letter to constituents. “And that’s the greatest gift you, our elected representatives, can give us.”
The bill would have allowed people 18 years and older to be killed by their doctors in assisted suicide if they received a terminal diagnosis predicting less than six months to live. Unsurprisingly, assisted suicide groups have applauded it, though right-to-life groups have spoken out against it. Olivia Gans Turner, president of the Virginia Society of Human Life, said that while individual stories are often used to tug on voters’ heartstrings, bills like these affect much more than just one person.
“It’s much bigger than the individual,” she said. “And it’s much more complicated than just ‘I want to have control.’ What does that mean for our entire society?”
Data has repeatedly found that the vast majority of people who choose assisted suicide do so due to a fear of losing autonomy, and not being able to enjoy the same activities as before. Other studies have found that people worry that they will become a burden on their loved ones. Additionally, in countries where assisted suicide has been legalized, overall suicide rates have been known to increase.
