Medically assisted suicide up for debate at Minnesota Legislature for 10th year
MINNEAPOLIS — Does a dying person have the right to have a doctor help end their life? It's a question that once again is up for debate at the Minnesota Legislature.
Supporters say this could be the year medically assisted dying becomes Minnesota law. Opponents say not so fast — the danger of abuse will cost unwilling patients their lives.
It's a question every family confronts: The death of a loved one — sometimes tragically, unexpectedly and other times, painfully dragged out by medical advances and unpredictable rebounds.
This is about the second option and whether Minnesota should join 10 other states and allow the dying to get help from a doctor. Supporters say it's about choice. Critics say it's just the opposite — a decision easily manipulated to make the dying a victim.
Nancy Uden, despite suffering from glioblastoma, a fatal brain cancer, has attended news conferences and lobbied for the right to die.
"The legislature has been beating on this drum for nine, this is a 10th year. I don't have 10 years left, even under the best-case scenario. I don't have 10 years," she said.
The bill's author, Rep. Mike Freiberg, DFL - Golden Valley, said this could be the year it passes.
"I've been contacted by so many people, you know, from my district, from outside of my district, who thanked me for supporting the bill," he said. "They see it, you know, they say that they've seen their mom go through cancer, ALS, and just, you know, at the end of life, just wish they had an option, you know, where they could kind of end things on their own terms."
The national advocacy group Compassion and Choices says this is about choice.
"There are no injections. This is not euthanasia. It's not what we do to our pets. There's nobody, you know, doing this to someone else. It's really proactively the decision, the choice and the action taken by the patient," Dr. Rebecca Thoman said.
But opponents in the legislature say they will fight back. Leading the opposition, Sen. Paul Utke, R - Park Rapids, says Minnesota's existing hospice options work well and the law could be manipulated to force death on an unwilling victim.
"I fully believe that, you know, this should not take place. Every life is a gift from God, and we want to do everything we can to extend that life," Utke said.
Talking Points airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., live on CBS News Minnesota.
