California state government approves doctor-assisted suicide

The California state government has approved a bill to legalize doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, despite opposition from religious and disability rights groups.

The bill has now been sent to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown for his approval or veto.

Under the proposed legislation mentally competent patients would be allowed to request a prescription that would end their lives if two doctors agree the patients have only six months to live.

The measure was approved by the state Senate on Friday on a vote of 23-14, after passing the Assembly on Wednesday.

The bill had sparked weeks of debate, with supporters arguing that the measure would allow people in the last stages of terminal illness to die peacefully, and opponents claiming that it could increase vulnerability to greedy relatives or others who wished to avoid taking care of them or inherit their money.

The Roman Catholic Church is one of several organisations also opposing the bill, which allows physicians to prescribe medication to end a person's life, provided that two doctors agree the person has only six months to live. The person also must be deemed mentally competent by a mental health professional.

Tricking or coercing patients to end their lives would be a felony under the measure.

The debate on physician-assisted suicide, which is legal in several US states, was reignited last year after a 29-year-old brain cancer patient, Brittany Maynard, moved from California to Oregon to take advantage of that state's Death with Dignity Act.

The California Medical Association, which for years has opposed assisted suicide, withdrew its opposition last May and took a neutral stance instead, but many doctors continue to oppose it, saying they should preserve life rather than help end it.

It is not known whether Brown, a former Catholic seminarian, will sign the bill.