Virginia lawmakers advance bill to legalize assisted suicide

Lawmakers in a Virginia Senate subcommittee advanced a bill Tuesday that would legalize assisted suicide in the state.

Key Takeaways:

• The Virginia Senate Health subcommittee advanced SB 359, which would legalize assisted suicide.

• Many people spoke out against the bill, including members of the Medical Society of Virginia.

• Supporters often tout the "safeguards" attached to such bills — but, as has been seen elsewhere, those safeguards are almost always eroded.

• The bill next heads to the full Senate Education and Health Committee.

The Details:

SB 359 would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients who have been given a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to live. As written, the law would only apply to Virginia residents age 18 or older, and in order to qualify patients would need to make two oral requests at least 15 days apart. The doctor would also be required to have a one-on-one conversation with the patient to ensure the patient is not being coerced. In the committee hearing this week, Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) maintained that these were “enough guardrails," to protect against any abuse.

According to WHRO, throngs of people attended the committee hearing, expressing both support and opposition of the bill. Among them were representatives from the Medical Society of Virginia, which noted that it recently changed its stance on assisted suicide from neutral to one of opposition.

“Our profession needs to stand with patients from cradle to grave,” said Thomas Eppes, a family physician from Lynchburg and former president of the Medical Society of Virginia. “It’s only appropriate when hospice and palliative care is done, because that's aid in dying.”

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

The bill passed the Senate Health subcommittee on a vote of three to two with one abstention. It next heads to the full Senate Education and Health Committee.

Reality Check:

Though qualifying requirements like those attached to this bill are often touted as "safeguards" or "guardrails," it's not unusual for those safeguards to be gradually eroded years after the legislation which they purported to protect is passed. This has occurred almost everywhere that euthanasia or assisted suicide is legalized, such as California, Oregon, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands.

Nevertheless, assisted suicide supporters continue to tout the safeguards, especially in places where they are pushing for legalization. The unfortunate reality is that when assisted suicide is legal, vulnerable populations are especially susceptible to coercion and abuse as they come to believe that they are a burden, and society insinuates that they would be better off dead.

The Bottom Line:

Pro-death advocates are relentless in pushing the narrative that assisted suicide is compassionate and dignified, despite countless claims to the contrary. Virginia lawmakers would do well to consider the state's elderly and vulnerable citizens who are most at risk with this legislation.