NM lawmakers opt for more time on bill to allow aid in dying
Proposal would allow doctor to provide necessary medications
SANTA FE — Her voice barely a whisper, Elizabeth Whitefield said she expects a painful death.
The retired judge told New Mexico lawmakers late Friday that she has already endured breast and lung cancer. A more pressing concern now is throat and liver cancer.
She wants the option of legally seeking help from a doctor to end her own life when the time comes.
“I’m either going to asphyxiate and drown in my own fluids,” Whitefield said, “or I’m going to have extreme pain from the liver cancer . ... My family will have to watch me slowly die.”
Her story — and testimony from others — made for a heart-wrenching late night at the Roundhouse but no final decision on the proposed End of Life Options Act that Whitefield testified in favor of.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee, both Democrats and Republicans, said they wanted a little more time to craft a final version of the law before voting. They raised a variety of technical concerns,
including the establishment of adequate safeguards before a patient makes an irreversible decision.
“I believe we need to treat everyone facing these decisions with dignity, respect and compassion,” said House Minority Leader Nate Gentry, an Albuquerque Republican and attorney with experience in mental-health law. “But I also believe we need to protect them. People facing these decisions are necessarily vulnerable.”
At issue is a proposal — sponsored by Democrats Deborah Armstrong of Albuquerque and Bill McCamley of Mesilla Park — that would allow terminally ill patients in New Mexico to seek help from a doctor to end their own lives.
In its present form, House Bill 171 would require that the patient understand the decision, do it voluntarily and be able to selfadminister the medication that brings about his or her death.
The proposal would allow a doctor, physician’s assistant or other licensed health care provider to “provide medical aid in dying.” The provider would have to have been involved in treating the patient’s terminal illness.
To become law, House Bill 171 still must clear the Judiciary Committee and win approval by the full House, Senate and Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican.
The debate comes after the state Supreme Court last year ruled that terminally ill patients don’t have a right to a physician’s help in dying under the law as it stands now.
A 1963 state law makes it a fourth-degree felony to assist in a suicide. That would remain true under the proposed legislation, with an exception carved out only if the person complies with the requirements of the End of Life Options Act.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee late Friday wrestled with whether a second medical opinion ought to be required before a patient could receive medication to end his or her life. They also discussed how to ensure the patient has the legal “capacity” to make an informed decision.
Some wanted to require a waiting period, too.
Armstrong, a former state Cabinet secretary who’s worked as a health care administrator, said she was willing to consider changes to the bill. She spoke of caring for her own friends and relatives at the end of their lives.
“It’s the last choice someone can make for themselves,” Armstrong said. “I implore you to give that opportunity to the people of New Mexico.”