Proponents of physician assisted suicide are increasing their efforts to expand and legalize this practice in our country. Currently 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of physician assisted suicide. Sadly, hundreds of people have died by assisted suicide and this number will continue to grow.
California is one of the ten states that has legalized physician assisted suicide. California has not only embraced the death culture, but has been an avid proponent of its expansion. A few years ago, state leaders disturbingly presented a bill to expand Medical Aid in Dying. In October 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 380 into law.
SB 380 attacked patient rights by reducing the waiting period for assisted suicide. Under the original law patients had to make two requests for medications at least 15 days apart. The new law changed the 15 days to just a mere 48 hours. The law not only affected patients and their families, but attacked the rights of doctors. SB 380 prohibited California doctors from opting out of the state’s assisted suicide law, even if participation violates their conscience or religious beliefs. The bill required doctors to provide most of the documentation needed for their patients to receive “medical aid,” including a diagnosis of terminal illness. The law went as far as to impose civil and criminal punishment as well as professional discipline to doctors who refuse to comply.
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Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2022 to stop the enforcement of this outrageous law. Even the California Medical Association acknowledged that the bill severely threatened the autonomy of doctors, removing a true conscious objection. Two amazing Pro-Life organizations, Life Legal Defense Foundation and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), represented the CMDA in the lawsuit and won! In September 2022, a federal court granted Life Legal and ADF’s motion to block the law. The court stated that the California law violates the 1st Amendment rights of medical professionals by requiring them to participate in assisted suicide against their religious convictions and professional ethics.
In May of 2023, California agreed in a settlement to no longer force doctors to violate their religious and ethical beliefs by participating in assisted suicide. State officials also vowed to not enforce criminal or civil punishments, including professional discipline.
This is a huge win for the Pro-Life movement, but the war on life is not over. Just recently, there were two resolutions before the American Medical Association in support of assisted suicide that thankfully were not passed. The Pro-Life fight centers around the unborn for good reason, but. vulnerable lives outside the womb must also be protected. We must stand firm and fight back against this culture of death.
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