Congress has acted quickly on the bill--since returning from its August recess on September 8, there has been a mark-up by the full House Judiciary Committee. The mark-up lasted several hours, usurping two mornings for the Judiciary Committee members, and resulted in a party-line vote to push the bill to the full House with no amendments. There were several amendments considered however. One, offered by Mel Watt (D-NC), would have prohibited the use of controlled substances for assisted suicide except in compliance with state, federal or local laws, thus allowing Oregonians to continue to have access to legalized physician-assisted suicide. Another amendment, proposed by Robert Scott (D-VA), aimed to strike Section 101 from the bill, thus leaving only the language about training, education and funding for better palliative care. Both amendments were defeated. Some Hill-watchers predict that the bill will go to the full House in the next couple of weeks. There has been no activity on the Senate’s version of the bill.
ABCD is continuing to actively support "The Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act" as well as "The Conquering Pain Act." We are hopeful for a hearing on end-of life care before the 107th Congress convenes in January.
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