The Delaware House of Representatives late March 18 narrowly passed HB140, again sending the physician-assisted suicide bill to the state senate.
After debate, discussion and testimony, house members voted 21-17 to approve the measure with three members absent. All of the yes votes came from Democrats. Democrats Stephanie Bolden, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Franklin Cooke, Debra Heffernan, Josue Ortega voted against the bill. All Republicans voted no.
Rep. Eric Morrison, D-27, primary sponsor of HB 140, noted the bill passed both Delaware chambers last year before being vetoed by then-Gov. John Carney. New Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said he supports physician-assisted suicide in the state and would not have vetoed the bill that made it through the state legislature last year.
“This allows Delawareans in the final days of life to limit or avoid terrible illness,” Morrison said.
House Republican leader Timothy Duke and his fellow Republicans disagreed, standing in opposition to the proposed law, saying it requires public officials to make false sworn statements.
“The medical examiner’s report must list the terminal illness as the cause of death,” he said, instead of the lethal dose of medication.
In a June political maneuver last year that enabled supporters to rescind the senate vote from the previous week that defeated the assisted suicide bill, the measure passed in a new vote with 11 Democrats voting in favor of it in the 21-member state senate. It went to Carney’s desk from there.
The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was among numerous organizations that opposed the bill, which was similar to one defeated earlier last year in Maryland, where the diocese includes churches, schools and organizations along the Eastern Shore. Diocese leaders submitted more than 11,000 postcards March 11 to Democratic and Republican senators and house members, urging them to vote no on the assisted suicide bill.
The physician-assisted suicide legislation in Delaware has had numerous pushes in the last several years, including 2022 when it also passed through the House committee but was never offered for a full vote. It was removed from the House agenda that May.
The Delaware Catholic Advocacy Network said in June HB 140 has “serious flaws” that would endanger the elderly, mentally ill and disabled and could result in elder abuse, insurance fraud and an increase in the overall suicide rate. It also would fundamentally change the legal approach to medical ethics, medical practice and health-care decision-making in Delaware, the group said.
