In 1997, Oregon became the first state to allow a mentally competent terminally ill adult, with a prognosis of six months or less to live, an option to end their own life with assistance of a qualified physician. Since then, the states of Montana, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington have adopted similar legislation. Recent media coverage regarding a California resident who moved to another state to legally die with dignity has brought attention to the question of whether a competent adult who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness has a right to end their life with the assistance of a qualified physician.

This bill parallels Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, and establishes a formal process that permits qualified California residents/patients to request medication for the purpose of ending their life, and also provides an opportunity to rescind such request at any time. Patients qualifying would be under the care of a physician at the time of death. Death will likely occur in hospice, in the presence of a physician, and/or in a private setting. This bill specifies that patients are not to end their life in public places. Because of these and other provisions of this bill, response by peace officers is not likely to occur.

This bill would make it a felony to: (1) without the patient’s authorization, knowingly alter or forge a request for medication to end an individual’s life, or conceal or destroy a rescission of a request for medication if done with the intent or effect of causing the individual’s death, (2) knowingly coerce or exert undue influence on an individual to request medication for the purpose of ending his or her life, or (3) otherwise destroy a rescission of a request.

By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Peace officer trainees completing the Regular Basic Course (RBC) receive six hours of training on crimes against persons and death investigations in Learning Domain 7. POST also offers in-service courses on death investigations and suicide. In order to address the description, identification, and proper response to the new crime created by this bill, if enacted, modifications would need to be made to Learning Domain 7 and any other courses involving death investigations. POST would incur minimal costs to update these courses. The costs would be absorbable.