*by Xavier Symons
The US state of New Mexico may become the next jurisdiction to pass assisted suicide legislation, with a House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee voting 4-3 on Monday to endorse an ‘assisted dying’ bill. The bill has been referred to a judiciary committee for further consideration.
Medically assisted suicide is legal in seven states and Washington, D.C. More than a dozen states are expected to consider this year legislation that allows the terminally ill to end their lives.
The New Mexico bill has been described by some as the most radical in the world. Provisions that set it apart from legislation in other US states include a shorter, two-day waiting period between the time a prescription for life-ending drugs is authorized and when it is made available to a patient. The New Mexico bill would add not only physicians but also physician assistants and nurse practitioners to the list of medical professionals who can prescribe life-ending medication.
“I’ve worked with people who are terminally ill. I have worked in hospice, been the caregiver at the bedside of family and friends”, said Deborah Armstrong, a Democrat representative who is sponsoring the bill “It’s a very personal issue for me”.
Republican representative Gregg Schmedes, a surgeon from Albuquerque who voted against the bill, questioned the degree to which doctors can determine with certainty that any patient is going to die. He also raised objections to a "conscience clause" in the bill that allows doctors to decline to participate in medically assisted suicide under all circumstances — but must refer the patient to another doctor.
Fonte: https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/new-mexico-assisted-suicide-bill-endorsed-by-house-committee/12953
- MARCOS COLTRI
- Advogado. Especialista em Direito Médico e Odontológico. Especialista em Direito da Medicina (Coimbra). Mestre em Odontologia Legal. Coordenador da Pós-graduação em Direito Médico e Hospitalar - Escola Paulista de Direito (EPD). Coordenador ajunto do Mestrado em Direito Médico e Odontológico da São Leopoldo Mandic. Preceptor nos programas de Residência Jurídica em Direito Médico e Odontológico (Responsabilidade civil, Processo ético médico/odontológico e Perícia Cível) - ABRADIMED (Academia Brasileira de Direito Médico). Membro do Comitê de Bioética do HCor. Docente convidado da Especialização em Direito da Medicina do Centro de Direito Biomédico - Universidade de Coimbra. Ex-Presidente das Comissões de Direito Médico e de Direito Odontológico da OAB-Santana/SP. Docente convidado em cursos de Especialização em Odontologia Legal. Docente convidado no curso de Perícias e Assessorias Técnicas em Odontologia (FUNDECTO). Docente convidado de cursos de Gestão da Qualidade em Serviços de Saúde. Especialista em Seguro de Responsabilidade Civil Profissional. Diretor da ABRADIMED. Autor da obra: COMENTÁRIOS AO CÓDIGO DE ÉTICA MÉDICA.
