# Governor Jerry Brown signs assisted suicide bill. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 6, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669 "2015-10-06T00:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/1 "2015-10-06T00:29:08Z")
I can not tell you how happy I am about this. When they pulled the bill a few months ago because of opposition from the catholic church, I heard they didn’t think they’d be able to take it up again until next year. > **[California Governor Jerry Brown signs assisted suicide bill](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/california-governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill-2015-10-05)** > > California Governor Jerry Brown signs legislation on Monday that will make the state one of only a handful to grant terminally ill patients the authority to... Now I don’t have to move to Oregon if the day ever comes when I need help to die. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/2 "2015-10-06T00:46:41Z")
Its about freaking time. Sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/3 "2015-10-06T01:17:14Z")
I was just watching the Meredith Vieira Show today, and one of the guests was Christy O’Donnell. She filed a lawsuit along with a couple other terminal patients, trying to get the state to allow their doctors to prescribe life-ending medication. It’s good to hear the suit has been rendered unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/4 "2015-10-06T01:24:14Z")
I was once explaining the process of euthanasia for an ER client when it was determined her dog was terminally ill and already too sick to treat with any success or quality of life. As I was standing in the exam room explaining what was going to happen, I could see the gears turning in her head. I’ll never forget seeing the dawning on her face when she looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Why don’t they do that for people?” I told her it’s complicated. Religion gets in the way and we’d be there for another hour just to explain it. We needed to get to work on her dog. It’s something I’ll never, ever forget though, seeing someone without religious bias thinking about something that she never needed to think about before and making the logical conclusion. She gave me hope. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/5 "2015-10-06T19:43:01Z")
I read in the paper that the patient requesting it has to be of sound mind, of course. But this rules out dementia patients, unless the patient has requested it long in advance of the dementia. Can they? I wouldn’t want to spend several bedridden years with my mind gone and costing someone (or the state) millions of dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/6 "2015-10-06T19:48:27Z")
Yay! As a member of Team Terminally Ill\*, this law gives me great peace of mind. Not so much for the ability to choose when I was going to go - I planned on doing that anyway - but because it means that those who help me on the journey don’t risk prosecution for it. \*Our colors are black and black, our symbol is a vulture, and our slogan is “Memento Mori”. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/7 "2015-10-06T20:06:23Z")
I absolutely disagree with this. Those who are in pain for whatever reason need _help_. Enabling them to kill themselves is the exact opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/8 "2015-10-06T20:16:08Z")
Smapti: The law is very clear on who is allowed to take advantage of the allowances. The person must be certified by two different doctors that they have 6 months or fewer to live; they must make the request in writing, followed by two verbal requests two weeks later; and they must be mentally capable of making their own medical decisions. So basically, these are people who are already dying, and dying soon, who wish to make the process shorter and less painful for themselves and their loved ones. Yes, people in pain need help. But when all the painkillers don’t work, when you’re on the way out, it is kinder to allow someone to take the final step themselves rather than forcing them to endure. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/9 "2015-10-06T20:31:22Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Yes, people in pain need help. But when all the painkillers don’t work, when you’re on the way out, it is kinder to allow someone to take the final step themselves rather than forcing them to endure. Perhaps, if you hold the opinion that a painful life is not worth living. I disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/10 "2015-10-06T20:35:44Z")
Brown was a well-intentioned but questionable governor the first time around. His return to the job, in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, has been a standard-setting effort. Besides an uncommon helping of sense and judgment, he knows how to balance personal ethics against public opinion in the name of doing the most good for the most people. And maybe this time he’ll get an official portrait that doesn’t show up on Cracked. com lists. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/11 "2015-10-06T20:39:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Perhaps, if you hold the opinion that a painful life is not worth living. I disagree. _There’s no limit to the amount of pain a man can endure; provided, of course, it is some other man._ ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/12 "2015-10-06T20:40:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Perhaps, if you hold the opinion that a painful life is not worth living. I disagree. Respectfully, your lack of imagination isn’t a compelling reason to force someone to live in agony. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/13 "2015-10-06T20:43:42Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Respectfully, your lack of imagination isn’t a compelling reason to force someone to live in agony. [related](https://xkcd.com/883/). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/14 "2015-10-06T20:47:33Z")
Come quietly to the camp You’d look nice as a drawstring lamp Don’t you worry, it’s only a shower For your clothes here’s a pretty flower ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/15 "2015-10-06T21:03:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Perhaps, if you hold the opinion that a painful life is not worth living. I disagree. I hold the opinion that what my life is worth to me is my decision to make. Who do _you_ think is in a better position to make that decision? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/16 "2015-10-06T21:04:50Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Come quietly to the camp > You’d look nice as a drawstring lamp > Don’t you worry, it’s only a shower > For your clothes here’s a pretty flower How can you compare the two situations? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/17 "2015-10-06T21:14:53Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How can you compare the two situations? It’s not an awfully big leap from “Sick people should be allowed to kill themselves” to “It’s obvious that this person would want to die if they could make the decision for themselves” to “These people are [life unworthy of life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_unworthy_of_life)”. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/18 "2015-10-06T21:23:14Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s not an awfully big leap from “Sick people should be allowed to kill themselves” to “It’s obvious that this person would want to die if they could make the decision for themselves” to “These people are [life unworthy of life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_unworthy_of_life)”. It’s a huge leap and a profoundly inept argument. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/19 "2015-10-06T21:23:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s not an awfully big leap from “Sick people should be allowed to kill themselves” to “It’s obvious that this person would want to die if they could make the decision for themselves” to “These people are [life unworthy of life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_unworthy_of_life)”. Nooooo, it’s a HUGE leap. Light years. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669/20 "2015-10-06T21:29:29Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Nooooo, it’s a HUGE leap. Light years. :smack: And yet, in Germany, it took less than a decade. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/governor-jerry-brown-signs-assisted-suicide-bill/733669.md?page=2)