The California Compassionate Choices Act: Controversy is in the Eye of the Beholder

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Patty Berg
Assemblywoman, 1st District

Just because someone doesn’t like something doesn’t make it controversial.

Sushi is not controversial food. Some people just don’t like it.

The same is true of AB 374, our bill that would give terminally ill Californians the right to use medication to control their own dying.

Some people don’t like it.

But 70 percent of California voters do like it. So where’s the controversy? Is it controversial just because the people who don’t like it make a lot of noise about it?

Anything that has support of 70 percent of the voters is not controversial. In the public mind, the issue is settled, and now the government just needs to catch up.

In Oregon – the only state that respects the full rights of dying people – they adopted the Death With Dignity Act through the initiative process. And some people say that’s how we should do it here. Even the governor has said that might be the way to go.

But the legislative process, I believe, is better. Because of this process, we have a bill that has more safeguards than in Oregon. And now we’re adding even more amendments, even more safeguards, to make it better still. You can’t do that with the initiative process.