Opponents of aid-in-dying laws are claiming a small victory. They won the attention of Congress this week in聽their battle to stop a growing movement that allows terminally ill patients to get doctors鈥� prescriptions to end their lives.
The Republican-led effort on Capitol Hill to overturn the District of Columbia鈥檚 aid-in-dying law appeared to have died聽Friday. But advocates worry聽the campaign will catalyze a broader effort to fully ban the practice, which is legal in six states and being considered in 22 more.
鈥淭he D.C. legislation has catapulted the issue of medical aid in dying onto the federal agenda at a time when Congress has the power to enact a ban on this end-of-life care option nationwide 鈥� even criminalizing the practice in the six states where this option is currently authorized,鈥� warned Jessica Grennan, national director of political affairs and advocacy for Compassion &聽Choices, which supports right-to-die laws.
鈥淚f that happens, it will set the end-of-life care movement back to the last century,鈥� Grennan said.
Despite the apparent defeat this week, both sides agree that the debate on Capitol Hill, featuring a Republican moral protest, could be only a taste of what鈥檚 to come.
In a vote that hewed closely to party lines, the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee on Monday approved a bill that would knock down D.C.鈥檚 law, which won approval from the mayor and City Council in December. While D.C.鈥檚 law mirrors those passed in other states, Congress has unique power to intervene in D.C.鈥檚 affairs. Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress has 30 legislative days to overturn any law D.C. passes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 of deep, personal moral conviction that I stand in opposition鈥� to D.C.鈥檚 law, said Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who chairs the committee, in Monday鈥檚 hearing.
Chaffetz appears to have lost round one. Republicans in the House and Senate聽introduced joint resolutions attempting to block D.C.鈥檚 law, but the bills聽needed to pass the full House and Senate and gain President Donald Trump鈥檚 signature by Friday. Trump has on the matter.
Because Congress didn鈥檛 complete those steps this week, D.C.鈥檚 law successfully passes the congressional review period, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.鈥檚 non-voting representative, announced in a press release Friday.
But 鈥渙ur defense of the Death with Dignity Act聽is only beginning,鈥� Norton said.
That鈥檚 because Chaffetz has threatened to launch a second attack on the bill this spring, when Congress approves D.C.鈥檚 budget. The Death With Dignity Act calls for spending $125,000 in local money to build a database tracking the assisted-dying program. The law is set to take effect Oct. 1, at the beginning of the fiscal year, but only after the money is approved, according to D.C. mayoral spokeswoman Susana Castillo.
Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, which opposes medical aid in dying, said聽the Republicans鈥� effort聽to overturn D.C.鈥檚 law may still have broader impact.
鈥淎s representatives and senators become more educated about the dangers of physician-assisted suicide,鈥� Stevens said, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be surprised鈥� if members of Congress introduce laws to聽鈥減rohibit or at least more closely regulate鈥� the practice.
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If Congress passes such a law, the only hope for advocates such as聽Grennan 鈥渨ould be for the Supreme Court to intervene,鈥� she said. But she noted that Trump鈥檚 pick for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, a federal appellate judge on the U.S.聽Court of Appeals for the 10th聽Circuit, has 聽against aid-in-dying efforts. The book, she said, notes 鈥渢he Supreme Court鈥檚 power to overturn the state medical aid-in-dying laws.鈥�
Away from Capitol Hill, the aid-in-dying movement has gained聽steam: The practice is legal in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Colorado, California and Montana.
Energized by victories in California and Colorado last year, aid-in-dying supporters are pushing ahead to battlegrounds nationwide. So far this year, 21 states have introduced aid-in-dying legislation, according to Compassion &聽Choices. And in South Dakota, proponents are trying to get the practice approved through a ballot initiative.
Hawaii, Maryland and Maine appear the most likely to pass new legislation this year, said Peg Sandeen, executive director of the Death With Dignity National Center, another national advocacy group.
But opponents have beaten back similar measures in many states in recent years. And in Alabama, South Dakota and New York, they聽have gone on the offensive, introducing bills to preemptively outlaw the practice or prohibit insurance from paying for the lethal drugs.
Chaffetz, who is leading the charge against D.C.鈥檚 law, has enraged Democrats and D.C. officials, who accuse him of overreaching his power by meddling in local affairs. But Chaffetz and fellow House Republicans at Monday鈥檚 vote said moral concerns trump local autonomy.
鈥淥nly God gets to decide鈥� when a person鈥檚 life ends, declared Rep. Paul Mitchell, a Michigan Republican, during the debate.
Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who introduced the Senate resolution blocking the bill, also made a legal argument, citing a 1997 law passed under President Clinton that for physician-assisted death. Because of that law, Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs聽do not pay for the lethal drugs, so patients must pay out-of-pocket or use private or state-funded insurance. Lankford challenged D.C. to show that its assisted-dying program wouldn鈥檛 conflict with that law.
Advocates dismissed that argument. Sandeen, of the Death With Dignity National Center, said D.C.鈥檚 program will not use any federal money to help people die. She called the legal argument a 鈥渞ed herring effort,鈥� aimed at distracting attention from politicians鈥� true reasons for trying to strike down D.C.鈥檚 law.
鈥淚鈥檇 rather that they said, 鈥楩or religious purposes, I disapprove of this law,鈥欌�� she said.
This story has been updated to reflect the end of聽Congress鈥檚 review period.
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