Legislation allowing doctor-assisted suicide narrowly clears Delaware House, heads to state Senate

DOVER, Del. — A bill allowing doctor-assisted suicide in Delaware narrowly cleared the Democrat-led House on Thursday and now goes to the state Senate for consideration. The bill is the latest iteration of legislation that has been repeatedly introduced by Newark Democrat Paul Baumbach since 2015, and it is the only proposal to make it … Read more

France is proposing to allow terminally ill patients to take lethal medication

PARIS — France’s government presented a bill Wednesday to allow adults with terminal cancer or other incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow for legal options for aid in dying. Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. French President Emmanuel Macron has long … Read more

France’s Macron announces legislation allowing ‘aid in dying’ under strict conditions

PARIS — French president Emmanuel Macron has announced new legislation to legalize “aid in dying” that will allow adults facing end-of-life illness to take lethal medication, a first in the country. The move follows last year’s report indicating that most French citizens support legalizing end-of-life options. In an interview published Monday by French newspapers La … Read more

Ecuador’s high court decriminalizes euthanasia, following a lawsuit by a terminally ill patient

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s high court on Wednesday decriminalized euthanasia and ordered lawmakers and health officials to draft rules and regulations for the procedure. The decision of Ecuador’s Constitutional Court came in response to a lawsuit from a terminally ill woman diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, who had argued that she … Read more

Minnesota lawmakers kick off debate on joining other states that permit physician-assisted suicide

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Legislature kicked off debate Thursday on whether the state should join the list of those that allow physician-assisted suicide. A House health committee took the unusual step of giving the bill a hearing even before the legislative session formally convenes Feb. 12. The lead sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mike Freiberg, … Read more

Terminally ill Connecticut woman ends her life on her own terms, in Vermont

A Connecticut woman who pushed for expanded access to Vermont’s law that allows people who are terminally ill to receive lethal medication to end their lives died in Vermont on Thursday, an event her husband called “comfortable and peaceful,” just like she wanted. Lynda Bluestein, who had terminal cancer, ended her life by taking prescribed … Read more