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Death-with-dignity The death-with-dignity bill -- along with the physician-assisted suicide debate that followed it -- has expired in a Senate committee at the hands of a key state senator.
bill expires
The Senate health panel
chairman does not forward itBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"One of the toughest measures we ever had to deal with," Sen. David Matsuura (D, South Hilo), Health Committee chairman, said yesterday. He decided yesterday not to pass the bill out of the committee.
The bill and an accompanying measure proposing constitutional amendments, both submitted by Gov. Ben Cayetano, would have allowed a doctor to prescribe a lethal dose of medication for terminally ill patients wanting to end their lives.
Matsuura had been criticized for initially refusing to hear House Bill 2487. Matsuura called the measure passed out of the House a "dumb bill." He later apologized for the remark.
When Matsuura decided he would hear the bill after all, he did so without the physician-assisted suicide provisions.
Matsuura said his proposal would address liability concerns and increase the penalties for institutions and care providers who do not follow "living wills" or advance health-care directives.
Those who wanted physician-assisted suicide legalized in Hawaii were not happy with Matsuura's bill but asked during Wednesday's hearing that the measure be kept alive to keep discussion going. Opponents wanted the bill to die.
But the hearing was also a venue for story after story about people taking care of dying loved ones.
"We understand the problems; we empathize with the problems," Matsuura told those attending yesterday's decision-making. But, he said, "All those people who had a negative experience in end of life could have been helped with our current law as it stands."
Matsuura said that health-care professionals did not want the current law touched. "They really are requesting that we do not open up ... the advance-directives law." Advance care directives are documents in which a person gives instructions about their health care if, in the future, they cannot speak for themselves.
Matsuura said, for example, that the current law has a section in which a patient with an advance directive can check a box that would allow that person to receive treatment to relieve pain or discomfort even if that treatment hastens death.
"All of these issues ... they were really emotional, and it's hard to deal with it, I know, when people have been hurt like that," said Matsuura. "Step back from the emotion, and really look at this bill and look at what we're really trying to do here."
Matsuura is the son of state Sen. Richard Matsuura, who died in 1997 after battling pancreatic and liver cancer.
Those fighting for assisted-suicide legislation said they are not giving up and that the session is far from done.
"The fat lady hasn't sung," said Juliet Begley, a researcher in Cayetano's office who testified in favor of keeping the bill alive. "I'm happy we got this far, but I don't necessarily think it's over."
Matsuura said people need to be educated more on advance directives and the rights available to them.
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