On Monday, Sens. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Carson City, Washoe, and David Parks, D-Las Vegas, introduced Senate Bill 336, the Nevada Patient Self-Determination Act. The bill outlines the process and strict safeguards required for terminally ill individuals to request and receive a prescription medication from their physician to hasten death.
The proposed assisted suicide law is modeled on legislation approved in Oregon and Washington, where the practice has been legal for 18 years and 7 years, respectively. Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have introduced similar legislation this year. Vermont has a similar law, and Montana and New Mexico allow the practice by court decision.
Kieckhefer said Senate Bill 336 is “an individual liberties issue” and that the state shouldn’t be allowed to interfere in the relationship between a terminally ill patient and his or her physician.
“The Patient Self-Determination Act provides strict safeguards, protects against coercion, and allows terminally ill patients to spend their final days and moments at peace, surrounded by their family members and loved ones,” said Sen. Kieckhefer in a news release.
Sen. Parks said “the time is right" for Nevadans to have this conversation.
“The people of Nevada deserve the most humane and compassionate end-of-life care possible, and an overwhelming majority of Americans support this idea,” said Parks. “I introduced this bill to provide terminally ill individuals with a dignified and compassionate end to their suffering, if they so choose.”
Senate Bill 336 provides for the following:
— Only adult residents of Nevada with a terminal illness may request and receive a prescription from their physician to hasten death. The terminally ill patient must self-administer the medication; no other person may assist them in taking the medication.
— The patient must be examined by two physicians who must both confirm that the patient is terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less to live and is mentally competent to make and communicate health care decisions.
— The patient must make three requests, two oral and one written. Two witnesses must attest to the written request. The oral requests are separated by a mandatory waiting period of 15 days and the written request must be at least 48 hours after the second oral request.
— The patient may choose to rescind the request or stop the process at any time.
The physician must discuss all available methods of treating or managing the terminal condition of the patient, including, comfort care, hospice care and pain control.
— The entire process is voluntary for everyone involved: patients, physicians, pharmacists, healthcare facilities and institutions.
— Any attempt to coerce an individual to utilize the law is punishable as a felony.