Democratic senators in Michigan are pushing for legislation to legalize euthanasia, or medically assisted suicide, the latest salvo in a heated battle across the country between “death with dignity” advocates and those opposed to euthanasia.  

Michigan’s “Death with Dignity Act” would allow capable patients with terminal diseases to request medication to end their life. The effort is already drawing fierce opposition from right-to-life groups in the state. 

“In other states and other countries where physician-prescribed death has passed, it has always expanded,” Right to Life Michigan’s executive director, Genevieve Marnon, tells the Sun. 

In Oregon, the residency requirement was removed, allowing “suicide tourism” to the state, she adds. In Canada, where assisted suicide is now the fifth-leading cause of death, more than a quarter of surveyed Canadians support allowing assisted suicide for those whose only affliction is “poverty.” 

“A genuinely compassionate response to somebody who is terminally ill or facing a very difficult diagnosis is to walk alongside them and do the best you can to eliminate the suffering without eliminating those who suffer,” Ms. Marnon says. “Abandoning somebody at the end of their life to take their own life with a lethal overdose is not the compassionate answer.” 

Although right-to-life groups were expecting assisted suicide legislation, the timing was surprising, she adds, as the bills were introduced at the end of the the last day of this year’s session. That means further action on the bills likely won’t take place until January’s legislative session.

The bills, which were referred to the state senate’s health policy committee, are sponsored by 12 Democratic senators. The state had a Democratic trifecta until last week, when the House became tied, but the senate and governor are Democratic, indicating the bill could pick up support if it moves out of committee. 

Supporters of the bills say terminally ill patients should be allowed to “end their lives peacefully” and “on their own timeline.”

“So many of us share the painful experience of having witnessed a loved one suffer, knowing they could have benefitted from an expanded end-of-life care option,” the bills’ lead sponsor, Senator Mary Cavanagh, said in a statement. 

The legislation recognizes the “autonomy and dignity” of each person, she added.

“Patients deserve the trust and respect to make their own medical decisions, including the choice to determine their own timeline to end ongoing suffering during the oftentimes dark battle they face,” Ms. Cavanagh, who was not immediately reachable by the Sun for comment, said. 

“This is a compassionate policy that would provide Michiganders and their loved ones with peace of mind when facing terminal illness,” she noted.

Other senators sponsoring the legislation say that it prioritizes freedom and compassion.

“Granting individuals the autonomy to choose dignified end of life care is not just an act of compassion but a testament to the value of personal freedom,” Senator Sam Singh said in a statement. “This legislation offers the solace of choice, while also providing critical safeguards to ensure its application is safe and protects our most vulnerable patients.” 

The legislation comes the same time that the American Medical Association’s governing body considers reversing its opposition to assisted suicide, as the Sun has reported, and a growing list of states consider allowing euthanasia. 

Legislatures in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts also have pending bills that, if passed, could legalize assisted suicide, according to Death With Dignity, a leading advocacy group in end-of-life policy reform. Ten states and Washington, D.C., have already passed similar efforts. 

A representative for Death With Dignity declined a request by the Sun to comment on Michigan’s Death with Dignity Act.