Pope Francis in 2015 addressed the topic of "palliative care" in his remarks to an assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Pope Francis said that palliative care "values the person," and that medical knowledge must be used for "the good of man, a good which is never accomplished 'against' the life and dignity of man
Kansas legislators are considering the "Enacting the Kansas death with dignity" bill, which would "allow certain terminally ill adults to request and receive life-ending medication." The bill is currently in the Committee on Health and Human Services.
A bill titled the "Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life-Options Act" is currently in New Mexico's House Judiciary Committee. The bill is named after Elizabeth Whitefield, a judge who was an advocate for assisted suicide; the legislation has been introduced numerous times in the state and has failed to become law.
New York has a pair of bills currently being debated, one to legalize assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, and the other to create a study on "medical aid in dying" should the practice be legalized.
North Dakota is also considering a bill to legalize assisted suicide, which is currently being considered in committee.
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Both the states of Hawaii and Washington--where assisted suicide has been legal since 2019 and 2009, respectively--are now trying to expand the scope of health care workers eligible to prescribe lethal doses of medication.
A proposed bill in Hawaii would allow "advanced practice registered nurses" to practice assisted suicide. In addition, it would reduce the state's waiting period between oral requests for assisted suicide from 20 days to 15 days, waiving this period entirely for the seriously ill who may not live another 15 days.
Washington state is also looking to broaden the standard of health care workers who can practice assisted suicide. Proposed legislation would allow not only physicians, but also some physician assistants, osteopathic physician assistants, and advanced registered nurse practitioners to prescribe lethal doses. Eligible health care workers must have primary responsibility for the care of the patient and treatment of the patient's terminal disease.