Physician Assisted Suicide Bill AB 374 is Shelved

For the third time in as many years proponents of physician assisted suicide have come up empty-handed in California. This year they had enlisted the aid of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez as a bill author. On this PAS third pitch, using AB 374 as their bat, they would either hit a home run or strike out. They Struck Out !!!

AB 374 was shelved yesterday by bill authors Patty Berg, Lloyd Levine and Fabian Nunez rather than have an Assembly Floor vote which would expose the extent of the bill's weakness. This makes AB 374 potentially a "two-year bill", meaning that next year the bill authors could bring it up for an Assembly floor vote in January. If AB 374 does not clear the Assembly by the end of January 2008, it is truly dead. Conceivably, the bill authors could continue to try to get commitments of support for AB 374 from other legislators between now and January. The situation will be monitored.

For now, however, it is time to celebrate and give thanks! Thanks for answered prayer and thanks for people who responded to the call for help when needed. The relentless opposition to physician assisted suicide applied to legislators and their staff in the district and at the Capitol undoubtedly made the difference. Californians Against Assisted Suicide brought together a broad coalition of organizations opposed to this immoral, unethical, unnecessary and uncontrollable bill. And those of you who made phone calls, wrote letters, visited district offices, collected petitions, picketed, etc., etc., etc., you were the cement that bonded this Coalition into a monolithic wall that AB 374 proponents could not penetrate.

In desperation, bill proponents tried to paint this opposition as a group of religious extremists, principally Catholic. But they really couldn't get traction with that shallow assessment. It could not explain away the disabilities community, the medical profession, every Republican legislator, and numerous Democrat legislators who didn't buy the promotion of death as a solution to the problems of life. Proponents have a basic problem: the more that people find out about physician assisted suicide, the less they like it. So keep up the good work of telling others the truth about this evil proposal whenever and however it may be packaged and presented. The truth shall prevail, it just needs to be told.