California Senate Votes on Physician Assisted Suicide

By May 12, 2015California

SB 128, a bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide, has passed its last policy committee and is just awaiting a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee once the governor’s revised budget is determined. Following a fiscal hearing in the next days, the bill will move quickly to the Senate floor. Please see action you can take NOW below.

The bill’s description says, “This bill would enact the End of Life Option Act authorizing an adult who meets certain qualifications, and who has been determined by his or her attending physician to be suffering from a terminal illness, as defined, to make a request for medication prescribed pursuant to these provisions for the purpose of ending his or her life.”

Click here to read bill in its entirety as well as view its current status and more.

Why is it that we fight so hard to save the life of the unborn or a young child but then pay little attention to end of life decisions? Let us stand up for all life!

Though there are many sound academic reasons to oppose physician-assisted suicide, as believers, the most important reason is because God, and God alone, is the author of life. We cannot take on the role of God and take life based on our mutable judgment.

A former CWA Director and friend went through five years of chemotherapy for cancer. She understands the physical pain and mental anguish people go through. She knows firsthand what it is like to ponder thoughts of ending life in order to get out of the excruciating physical pain and overwhelming emotional pain. She understands not wanting to put family and friends through unspoken anguish and uncertainty about the future as they cared for her. In her despair, death was very appealing, but she admits she did not think or reason clearly. How glad she is that she did not have the option to give her physician permission to kill her.

We don’t understand why God allows pain and suffering, but we know God is good; God is love, and His ways are higher than ours. God has appointed a time for each of us to be born and to die. He is with us in all things and has a purpose for every situation that comes our way. God has a plan for each of us.

As believers we must stand on the side of Biblical principles first and foremost. We must also consider the many sound academic reasons for opposing this horrific bill. The effects are immense. Please read through the facts provided on the Californians Against Assisted Suicide website.

CWA of California has joined the Californians Against Assisted Suicide coalition.

Take Action:

  1. Contact your State Senator right away! Ask him or her to oppose SB 128. Find your state senator here. (Search by address and then click on your senator’s name. From the website, click “contact” for the phone number or webmail link.) We cannot emphasize how important your calls are. At this time the Senate is essentially tied. We have a good chance to defeat this terrible bill!
  2. Educate yourself by reading through the Californians Against Assisted Suicide website.
  3. Please forward this e-mail immediately to like-minded friends, family, pastors and associates. Encourage them to pray and take action on this important life and death issue.
  4. There are several key Democrats to contact. If one of these is your senator, please don’t delay! Ben Allen, Jim Beall, Cathleen Galgiani, Ricardo Lara, Connie Leyva, Carole Liu, Tony Mendoza, Fran Pavley.

Pray: Please pray for each member of the Senate. May they see life as something to be cherished and have the courage to protect it.