'Death with Dignity' bill: What it would mean to terminally ill residents if adopted
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Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book filed this week a bill that would give terminally ill Floridians the option to end their lives with prescribed lethal medication.
The bill, called “Death with Dignity Act,” comes almost a month after New Smyrna Beach resident Ellen Gilland, 76, shot and killed her husband, Jerry, 77, in an AdventHealth hospital in Daytona Beach, according to Daytona Beach police.
“Every competent adult has the fundamental right of self-determination regarding decisions pertaining to his or her own health and recognizes that for some faced with a terminal condition, prolonging life may result in a painful or burdensome existence,” Book’s bill argues.
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But the proposal, which still has a long way to go in the Legislature, sets the exact rules and conditions for terminally ill people to end their lives.
Although it stands little chance of moving forward with Republicans holding supermajorities in both the House and Senate, here's a look at what Book’s bill proposes:
What the proposed Florida euthanasia bill requires
Besides residency requirements, the patient must be “clinically diagnosed with a terminal condition by his or her attending physician which has been medically confirmed by a consulting physician,” the bill says.
The patient would then submit two verbal requests and one written request to receive the lethal medication. The second verbal request would have to be made 15 days after the first one (unless the patient will die within these 15 days).
After receiving the second request, the attending physician must give the patient an opportunity to rescind it.
The patient could then make a written request to receive the medication, which he or she would only receive at least 48 hours after the written request’s submission.
Among other claims, the patient must write in the request that “I request that my attending physician prescribe medication that will end my life in a humane and dignified manner.”
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What would Florida doctors be responsible for?
Physicians attending to terminally ill patients would have their own procedure to follow.
They must “make the initial determination of whether a patient has a terminal condition, is competent, and has voluntarily made the request for medication to end his or her life.”
A consulting physician must make the same determination.
The physician must also ensure the patient is “making an informed decision,” which would require the physician to inform the patient on:
The medical diagnosis.
The prognosis.
The potential risks associated with taking the requested medication.
The probable result of taking the requested medication.
Any feasible alternatives, including, but not limited to, comfort care, hospice care and pain control.
The physician must also “recommend that the qualified patient notify next of kin of his or her decision.”
They may not, however, “refuse to prescribe medication to a qualified patient because he or she declines or is unable to notify next of kin.”
They must also “counsel the qualified patient about the importance of having another person present when taking the medication prescribed under this chapter and of not taking the medication in a public place.”
Physicians would need to document every step on the process in the patient’s medical record.
What else does Book's 'Death with Dignity' bill propose?
Book’s bill also ensures that any agreements the patient might have, such as wills and contracts, would not be impacted.
For instance, “the sale, procurement or issuance of any life, health, or accident insurance or annuity policy, or the rate charged for any policy, may not be conditioned upon or affected by a person making or rescinding a request for medication under this chapter. A qualified patient’s act of ingesting medication prescribed under this chapter may not affect a life, health, or accident insurance or annuity policy,” the bill says.
The bill also lays out the penalties for those who violate the rules. A person who, for instance, “willfully alters or forges a request for medication or conceals or destroys a rescission of that request with the intent or effect of causing the patient’s death” without the patient’s consent can face a first-degree felony charge.
The bill further explains that it may not be construed to “authorize a physician or any other person to end a patient’s life by lethal injection, mercy killing or active euthanasia.”
If adopted, the bill would take effect July 1, 2023.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida's proposed euthanasia bill: What it could mean for doctors
