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Connecticut Aid-In-Dying Bill Halted in Legislative Committee

Nicole Leonard
/
Connecticut Public Radio
Advocates testified last month at a public hearing in support of a bill that would bring aid-in-dying to Connecticut.

The option for terminally ill residents to choose when and how they they die isn’t coming to Connecticut this year.

The state Public Health committee did not hold a vote on a medical aid-in-dying bill Monday, which means it won’t advance by Wednesday’s legislative deadline.

Supporters of the proposal called the decision “beyond disappointing” while those who are against the idea say it’s a relief that the bill won’t go any further.

Lawmakers have tried for several years to pass a bill that would allow residents who meet specific criteria to end their own lives with medication, but any legislation never moved beyond the committee stage.

Tim Appleton, state resident and field director for Compassion and Choices, a national organization that supports medical aid-in-dying legislation, said in a statement that the bill’s defeat “will leave terminally-ill people who begged lawmakers for this right, without a choice at the end of their lives.”

Advocates were hoping this would be the year when Connecticut would join seven other states and Washington D.C. in adopting legislation. New Jersey is expected to become the eighth state to have aid-in-dying after a bill got a final vote by its legislature last week.

Groups for and against the proposal pleaded their cases at a public hearing last month. Supporters spoke about how aid-in-dying would have helped spare loved ones from painful and grim deaths, and that it can still help those suffering today.

Appleton pledged that “this bill will become law in Connecticut someday soon.” But not without opposition.

Credit Nicole Leonard / Connecticut Public Radio
/
Connecticut Public Radio
Elaine Kolb, of West Haven, testified as a disability activist against an aid-in-dying proposal last month during a legislative public hearing.

Elaine Kolb, of West Haven, testified last month against the bill as an activist for disability rights and a member of Second Thoughts Connecticut, a grassroots organization that views aid-in-dying as assisted suicide.

She spoke on how the legislation could pose a danger to people with disabilities. Specifically, Kolb said patients and medical professionals may be quick to refer to aid-in-dying without acknowledging what someone with a disability is still capable of doing.

Even though the bill was stopped this year, she anticipates efforts will be made in the future.

“I expect I will stay on this battlefield, til I die,” Kolb said in a statement.

Nicole Leonard joined Connecticut Public Radio to cover health care after several years of reporting for newspapers. In her native state of New Jersey, she covered medical and behavioral health care, as well as arts and culture, for The Press of Atlantic City. Her work on stories about domestic violence and childhood food insecurity won awards from the New Jersey Press Association.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.