Gov. Gavin Newsom on his mother's assisted suicide: 'I hated her for it'

California Governor Gavin Newsom has thrown his support behind assisted suicide, but he recently revealed that when his mother died by assisted suicide in 2002, it was a traumatizing experience for him and his sister.

Key Takeaways:

• Assisted suicide is legal in California, with Newsom's support.

• Newsom's mother underwent assisted suicide in 2002 at the age of 55 while battling breast cancer, which had spread to her liver.

• Newsom said his mother's death was a horrible experience for him to witness, saying he "hated her for it." He added, “I want to say it was a beautiful experience. It was horrible.”

• He said in his 2026 memoir that he felt guilt and anger over his mother's death.

The Backstory:

California legalized assisted suicide in 2016, and later updated the law in 2022 to reduce the waiting period and make assisted death easier to access. There have been numerous issues since, including reports of insurance companies refusing to pay for treatment and pushing assisted suicide on patients instead. State laws were eventually amended to prevent the prosecution of individuals who encourage others to access assisted death. A regulation was also put into place, allowing assisted suicide for those who are involuntarily committed due to mental illness.

Unsurprisingly, the number of people killed through assisted suicide has risen, and disturbingly, there are major discrepancies in the number of people receiving approval to die by lethal drug cocktails and the status of those patients. There are concerns, then, that some deaths may be coerced, or that people may take the lethal medication of others. Such instances have occurred.

The Details:

In an interview with the Washington Post, Newsom discussed his painful experience with assisted suicide. In 2002, his mother, Tessa Thomas Newsom, was battling breast cancer that had spread to her liver, and she requested assisted suicide, which Newsom admitted he did not try to talk her out of. But, he also said he "hated her" for going through with it.

“I hated her for it — to be there for the last breath — for years,” he said. “I want to say it was a beautiful experience. It was horrible.”

It was so traumatic that Newsom's sister wasn't able to remain in the room for the whole experience; Newsom, however, witnessed his 55-year-old mother's final breaths. "I sat there with her for another 20 minutes after she was dead,” he said, the Post noting that his eyes were full of tears. “My head on her stomach, just crying, waiting for another breath.”

Today, he supports assisted suicide, including his mother's decision. “I watched the physical deterioration, the mental deterioration, just the cries of pain,” he said. “She would have just suffered.”

Newsom also discusses his mother's death in his 2026 memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, in which he said he felt anger and guilt over his mother's death.

The Bottom Line:

Assisted suicide is promoted as a way to avoid a painful death, but this is not true — and it's not the reason why most people choose to die, either. Most people who request assisted suicide are afraid of losing autonomy and not being able to enjoy life. They also fear becoming a burden on their loved ones.