SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Legislation to allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives in California has stalled amid fierce opposition from religious groups.
The bill’s authors said Tuesday they would not present the right-to-die bill to the Assembly Health Committee, effectively ending the effort for the year.
The Catholic Church and other religious groups have opposed the bill. Right-to-die advocates could not get support from Los Angeles-area Democrats, where the archdiocese actively opposed it.
Supporters hoped that changing public opinion and the California Medical Association’s decision to drop its opposition would help the bill pass. Advocates have said they would try to take the issue to voters if the bill fails.
Doctors can prescribe life-ending drugs in four states. Efforts in other states to pass right-to-die legislation stalled this year.
