A bill that would allow a terminally ill patient to take their own life will not make it out of the Judiciary Committee this year, according to proponents of the legislation.
It’s the third year in a row the bill has failed to make it out of committee.
Tim Appleton, state director of Compassion & Choices, said civil rights issues take years to gain approval. He equated the struggle to get the legislation passed with gay marriage.
“Gay marriage took many years to gain approval in Connecticut, and today the majority of people cannot imagine a time when marriage equality was not fully accepted here,” Appleton said. “. . . We believe that, like gay marriage and other issues of personal choice, aid-in-dying will continue to gain support.”
The two Judiciary Committee chairmen were not immediately available for comment. The committee has until April 13 to approve legislation.
Opponents of the legislation applauded the decision not to move forward with the bill this year.
“We would urge the General Assembly to focus on improving hospice, palliative care, and home care, as well as passing a right to try bill (HB 6709) to help thiose seeking to extend their lives, rather than continue to waste time on an issue that has now been rejected three years in a row without a committee vote,” Stephen Mendelsohn, from Second Thoughts, said. “Three strikes and you are out. Each year, opposition to assisted suicide has only grown stronger.”
