RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Compassion
& Choices urges the California
attorney general to immediately file an appeal with a state
appellate court to suspend a lower court judgment today
invalidating the End of Life Option Act. Appealing the ruling filed
last night by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia would preserve access to the
law until the appeals process is completed or future ruling from
the courts.
Similar to laws in Washington,
D.C. and six other states, the California law gives mentally capable,
terminally ill adults with six months or less to live the option to
request prescription medication they can decide to take to end
unbearable suffering and die peacefully in their sleep.
Last week, Judge Ottolia granted plaintiffs' motion in the case,
Ahn vs. Hestrin — Case RIC1607135, to invalidate
the law because he claimed the legislature violated the state
constitution by passing it during a special session limited to
health care issues. He gave Attorney General Xavier Becerra five days to appeal the ruling,
and the attorney general did so on Monday.
On Wednesday, the 4th District Circuit of Appeal
denied a separate motion for a stay, but ordered the plaintiffs to
show cause why the appellate court should not overturn the ruling
in 25 days. Despite the appellate court's denial of the stay, Judge
Ottolia's original ruling didn't suspend the law because he had not
yet issued a judgment giving effect to his decision reflected in
his order last week.
"We urge Attorney General Becerra to immediately file a Notice
of Appeal of Judge Ottolia's ruling, and reassure the public that a
mandatory stay preserving the law during the appeal is in effect,"
said Kevin Díaz, national director of legal advocacy for Compassion
& Choices, which filed an amicus brief defending the law. "The
law should remain in effect until the appeals process ends, but the
Attorney General must act today, so dying Californians with only
weeks or days left to live still have access to this palliative
care option to peacefully end needless suffering at life's
inevitable end."
"The enactment fell within the scope of the special session
called, in part, to consider efforts to 'improve the efficiency and
efficacy of the health care system ... and improve the health of
Californians,'" said the attorney general's appeal of Judge
Ottolia's ruling last week filed in the 4th District Court of
Appeal. "As the Governor indicated, the Act deals with pain,
suffering, and the comfort of having the health care options
afforded by the Act."
"The California Supreme Court has ruled against these kind of
narrow interpretations of the governor's special session
proclamations in the past, so there is no reason to believe that
would change in this case," said John C.
Kappos, a partner in the O'Melveny law firm representing
Compassion & Choices, which led the campaign to pass the law.
"We are confident that the state constitution — and legal
precedents interpreting it — support our position and we ultimately
will win this case."
"It is inhumanely cruel that a judge would take away this health
care option to enable dying Californians like me to peacefully end
intolerable suffering," said Matt
Fairchild, a 48-year-old, retired Army staff sergeant in
Burbank who advocated for
the law and takes 26 medications to manage his symptoms from
terminal melanoma that has spread to his bones, lungs and brain. "I
am counting on Attorney General Becerra to immediately appeal this
ruling and defend this law that other dying Californians
desperately need."
Last June, Compassion & Choices released a report estimating
that 504 Californians have received prescriptions for medical aid
in dying since it took effect on June 9,
2016. Last July, the California Department of Public Health
released a report showing 191 terminally ill Californians received
prescriptions from 173 doctors for aid-in-dying medication during
the nearly seven month period from June 9,
2016 until Dec. 31, 2016; 111
of those individuals (58%) decided to self-ingest the
medication.
Polling shows 76 percent of Californians across the political
and demographic spectrum support medical aid in dying. This
majority support includes 82 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of
independents, 67 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of whites,
Latinos and Asian Americans, and 52 percent of African
Americans.
California is one of seven
states — including Colorado,
Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Hawai'i — as well
as the District of
Columbia, that have authorized medical aid in dying.
Collectively, these eight jurisdictions represent nearly one out of
five Americans (19%) and have 40 years of combined experience
safely using this end-of-life care option.
ABOUT COMPASSION & CHOICES:
Compassion & Choices is the nation's oldest and largest
nonprofit organization working to improve and expand health care
options at the end of life, with 450,000 volunteers nationwide. For
more information, visit:
CompassionAndChoices.org
Media Contact: Sean Crowley,
202-495-8520-c, scrowley@compassionandchoices.org
Latino Media Contact: Patricia A. González-Portillo,
323-819-0310-c, pportillo@compassionandchoices.org
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/group-urges-calif-ag-to-file-immediate-appeal-to-suspend-judgment-invalidating-medical-aid-in-dying-law-300655268.html
SOURCE Compassion & Choices