SACRAMENTO, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Controversial right-to-die legislation, allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients, passed in the California Assembly on Wednesday.
The 43-34 vote came after passionate debate by legislators, many offering personal experiences coping with dying friends and relatives.
"A life lived in pain isn't bearable for some people," said Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward.
Catherine Baker, R-San Ramon, one of three Republicans who voted in favor the bill, was initially skeptical before agreeing that terminal patients should avoid what she said was needless pain at their deaths.
"I believe it's nothing short of cruel to deny them a choice in their final hours and days," Baker said.
"They are going to die," she added, noting the issue should be "whether or not they are going to die from painful suffocation, drowning in their own fluid and starving, or whether they will die in a peaceful setting."
An earlier version of the measure, opposed by the Catholic Church and other religious leaders, was approved by the State Senate by a slim margin in June. The bill will now return to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved, and will then go to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.
Brown has not expressed his position on the issue, though a spokeswoman said he objected that the bill was included in a special legislative session to discuss healthcare funding for the poor.
