MARYLAND - A Maryland bill has been introduced that would allow individuals to request and receive aid in dying from their doctor.
House Bill 403, cross-filed with Senate Bill 443 and titled the End-of-Life Option Act, was introduced in the House in January. The act would establish requirements and prohibitions surrounding aid in dying
Under the act, doctors who dispense or prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a qualified patient who has requested it would be exempt from civil or criminal liability for prescribing the medication. A qualified patient is defined in the bill as an adult who has the capacity to make medical decisions, is a Maryland resident, has a terminal illness with a prognosis of death within six months, and has the ability to self-administer medications. The law would not allow doctors to administer the lethal dose.
The requesting patient would first make an oral request for aid in dying, and then make a written request via a specific form with two witness signatures. Doctors would not be required to participate in the aid in death under the legislation, but would need to transfer the person’s care to another physician upon request.
According to the legislation, Maryland became the 38th state to outlaw physician-assisted suicide in 1999 and established that anyone who knowingly assists in a suicide or suicide attempt is guilty of a felony and subject to a fine and/or prison. The law was passed in response to Dr. Murad Jacob “Jack” Kevorkian who assisted in the suicide of a Michigan man.
Only ten states currently allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses to dying patients, while nineteen, including Maryland, are considering aid in dying legislation in their current sessions.
The End-of-Life Option Act is currently under consideration in the Health and Government Operations committee and must pass that committee in order to be voted on in the full assembly. A hearing on the bill is scheduled for tomorrow, February 16th.
