Proposed conditions

A proposal about to be introduced in the Ohio legislature would allow physician-assisted suicide if several conditions are met, including:

The patient must be diagnosed with a terminal condition by the attending physician.

The patient must make two oral requests and a written request dated and signed in the presence of two unrelated adults.

The patient’s physician must inform the patient of all treatment options.

The patient must request the medication free from any coercion or undue influence.

If the physician suspects the patient may not be able to make his own health-care decisions, the patient must be referred for psychological evaluation.

There are two waiting periods — one after the initial verbal request and one after the receipt of the written request by the attending physician. The patient may opt out at any time. No health-care professional can be forced to participate. The patient must self-administer the medication. effectively for the past two decades, she said. A total of 204 terminally ill people obtained fatal drug doses in 2016, with 133 using them to end their lives, according to Oregon statistics.

The American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics opposes physician-assisted suicide, including providing lethal medications. The ethics code states: “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.”

Tavares said her bill would require multiple steps to ensure a terminally ill patient who wishes to die is making an informed decision and has been informed of all treatment options.

The patient must be of sound mental health, undergo a waiting period and self administer the fatal dose of medication. No physician would be forced to prescribe life-ending drugs to a patient.

Similar laws are being considered in Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and New York, Tavares said.