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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
One Democrat legislator wants to make physician assisted suicide an option for Tennessee residents, calling it death in a “humane and dignified manner.”
State Representative Bob Freeman (D-Nashville-District 56) filed House Bill 1710 (HB1710) to give terminally ill individuals access to drugs that could be used to end their lives.
As written, the bill reads, “[a]n adult who is capable, is a resident of this state, and has been determined by an attending physician and a consulting physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, and who has voluntarily expressed the wish to die, may make a written request for medication for the purpose of ending the adult’s life in a humane and dignified manner in accordance with this part.”
The bill states that the illness must be one for which there is no cure and that cannot be reversed. Life expectancy for the individual cannot be more than six months. Additionally, it requires that there be two people to witness the request for medication – one of which cannot be the attending physician, a relative, or anyone who would have a part in the person’s estate.
Individuals would be required to first verbally request the medication from their attending physician and then make the request in writing. A second verbal request must be made within 15 days of the first request. Patients would be able to rescind that request at any point.
Freeman says he filed the bill after seeing friends who struggled with the end of life for elderly family members.
While Tennessee does offer hospice and palliative care for those suffering from terminal illness, Freeman says that is not enough.
“When you talk about hospice, they talk about quality of life, and quality of life at the end of life should be honored as well,” Freeman said. “When you enter into hospice, and you know the end is near – it’s not medically treatable – and you’re just treating the pain until the person dies naturally, I think that people should have the choice to choose how they want to die.”
There are currently 12 states that already allow individuals to choose physician assisted suicide and another 14 are considering bills that would provide this option, including Tennessee.
