Physician-assisted suicide legislation passes Delaware House after emotional debate

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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Delaware House approved physician-assisted suicide legislation Tuesday after a sometimes emotional debate.

The bill is almost identical to the legislation, the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Act, that state lawmakers passed last year. The 2024 bill was named for two advocates of the legislation who both died in 2018. That legislation was vetoed by former Gov. John Carney.

This year’s bill is sponsored by state Rep. Eric Morrison, D-Glasgow.

It would allow people with fewer than six months to live to request and ingest medication to end their lives. Lawmakers voted 21-17 in favor of the bill, with three absences. Morrison took up the issue after former Rep. Paul Baumbach spent several years pushing to legalize what advocates describe as medical-aid-in dying before retiring last year.

Morrison, who spoke on the House floor about his late mother who died of lung cancer, said she believed she should have had the choice to end her life on her own terms.

“Terminally ill Delawareans have the right to end their lives in a dignified manner with as little suffering as possible,” he said. “Passing this act is the right and compassionate thing to do.”

Some opponents expressed concerns, such as provider training and proper disposal of leftover medication.

Morrison argued the measure has several safeguards. In the bill, an individual’s doctor or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a consulting physician or APRN must confirm a patient has a terminal illness, has six months or less to live, is capable of making decisions, can make informed decisions, and is acting voluntarily. It also includes waiting periods and a physician opt-out provision.

Valerie Jones Giltner, a retired critical care nurse, said medical-aid-in-dying does not guarantee a peaceful and dignified passing.

“I think we are doing a disservice to the citizens of Delaware by letting them think that this bill will then have a Hollywood-style death,” she said. “They are thinking that it is compassionate care, but with this lethal concoction of drugs, some patients take 10 days to die. It is not pretty.”

Jones Giltner became emotional as she related her conversation with a disability advocate opposed to the legislation which took place during a recess the House took while debating the bill.

“As a nurse and as a mom and as a legislator, I have to think about not only the patients,” she said. “I also have to think about every constituent that I serve and that we serve as a body in Delaware and not just work on individualized stories.”

Some disability advocates oppose legalizing medically assisted suicide because of several concerns, including that people with disabilities could be manipulated to end their lives, instead of receiving what could be expensive medical care.

The legislation now heads to the Senate Executive Committee.

The measure skated through the state Senate by one single vote last year. If members on both sides of the aisle vote the same way, the two newly elected Democratic senators, Dan Cruce, D-Wilmington, and Ray Seigfried, D-North Brandywine, must also vote yes for it to go to Gov. Matt Meyer’s desk. The new lawmakers replaced now-Congresswoman Sarah McBride and Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay.

Meyer indicated during his campaign for the top job that he supported the concept.