Changes Could Be Coming to Maine’s ‘Death With Dignity’ Law

My grandfather always told me there are two things that are certain in this lifetime. Paying taxes and dying. The man cut several checks to the IRS over the years and now he's dead- so I guess he wasn't wrong.

But the idea of having actual legal control over when we die is something that has been debated among states for decades. As the years pass by, so to do laws that allow more and more states each year to assist terminally ill patients with planning and executing (for lack of a better term) their own deaths.

Back in 2019, Maine finally passed its very own 'death with dignity' law. According to the Kennebec Journal, the way the current Maine law works is that once a terminally ill patient meets a certain criteria, they can be approved for the medication that will end their life on their terms.

However, once the medication is approved, there is a mandatory 17 day wait period before the patient is allowed access to it. This has proven to be a challenge in multiple instances where a patient requests death with dignity, is approved, and then died prior to ever receiving the medication.

There has now been a new proposal in the Maine legislature to waive that 17 day waiting period. However, it was rejected by just one vote on Monday inside the Maine Senate chamber the KJ reported.

Now because of the failure in the Senate, the Bill will have to makes its way back through the house and eventually the senate again and, if it passes, would eventually make its way to Governor Mills' desk for its final signature to become law.

Given the emotional testimony in support of the bill in the Chamber last week, I find it unlikely that it will fail to pass a second time, but only time will tell.