A Rainy Day in Sacramento

View from the Capitol

Although the day started off with a bit of a storm, the rest of the day was quite exciting at the Capitol. We began the day meeting with Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson in her office along with her principle consultant, Chris Reefe. In her office, she discussed current bills that she is currently dealing with in the Senate, from a bill on the regulations of drone devices to increasing renewable energy in the state. Most importantly, Senator Jackson discussed the End of Life Options Act, for which she is the principal co-author and also presiding over the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing for the bill today.


After lunch, we attended the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the End of Life Options Act, where we would hear testimonials of those whom were proponents and opponents of the bill. This bill would allow a person to self administer prescriptions to end their life in the case of terminal illness where the person only has six months or less to live. The panel of proponent testimonials contained an oncologist, to the Chair of Bioethics at UC Davis to the husband of Brittany Maynard, the 29 year old woman who ended her life in Oregon after battling terminal brain cancer. Yet the most touching and sobering testimonial was that of Christina Simon, who is living with multiple sclerosis and was told she only has a few months to live. In her testimony she mentioned that she is losing her ability to speak and her breathing is failing. She also stated having to move herself and her family to Oregon to begin to process of ending her life. I found myself in tears to think this woman had the strength today to share her story in front of so many strangers.

Although it was difficult to listen to these testimonials, it was also great to see that the the Senate Judiciary Committee was listening to these testimonials in order to come to a decision on whether to provide Californians with this option. The oncologist on the proponent testimonial panel ended with a quote from Hippocrates; "Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always". Whether you are for or against the End of Life Options Act, it was to great to see that such an issue can be openly discussed and debated.

End of Life Options Act Hearing