The Delaware Senate Executive Committee today passed the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act (HB 140). This marks the second time the bill has been passed by the committee, the first being less than a year ago in June 2024. 

HB 140, which has a record-high 18 sponsors and cosponsors, next moves to the Senate floor, which will be its final stop in the General Assembly before it is sent to Governor Matt Meyer. Gov. Meyer publicly stated he will sign HB 140 into law after former Governor John Carney’s September veto disregarding the bill’s historic first passage by the Delaware General Assembly.

“We are grateful to the committee for rightfully respecting the will of 72% of Delaware voters by passing this bill again, thanks in large part to the hard work of Sen. Bryan Townsend, HB 140’s lead Senate sponsor,” said Heather Pope, Delaware campaign manager for Compassion & Choices Action Network. 

“Advocates like Ron SIlverio, Heather Block, Tom LaFollette, Chuck Knothe, and, as of March, Diane Kraus, have spent their final years, months, and days fighting for the option of medical aid in dying. They have travelled to legislative hearings, participated in media interviews, and attended meetings with lawmakers while actively undergoing grueling treatments, some even the same day they received chemotherapy. We urge the Senate to please honor their sacrifices by passing the Delaware End-of-Life Options Act as soon as possible and, in doing so, allow dying Delawareans who want this option to spend their precious time living.”

The hearing was characterized by spirited, passionate public testimony, as those familiar with the ten years of debate have likely come to expect. Former Representative Paul Baumbach, who was the lead sponsor of the Delaware End-of-Life Options Act for many years, testified in support of the bill before the committee, reminding them of advocates Ron Silverio and Heather Block.

“In their final months of life, Heather and Ron came to Legislative Hall to plead for passage of this bill. They pleaded for their right to work with their medical professionals, for the right to select whether their cancer would have the last word over them, or if they would have the last word over their cancer,” said Baumbach. “Terminal diseases and terminal prognoses are uncomfortable – that cannot be avoided. However, uncontrolled suffering can be avoided.”

A fixture in support for the End-of-Life Options Act is Judy Govatos, a Wilmington resident with incurable lymphoma. Since 2018, while enduring treatment for her cancer, Govatos has been fighting for the option of medical aid in dying, expressing her hope for a gentle end when that time comes. Today, Govatos shared with the committee that two weeks ago, she found out that her cancer had returned. 

“At 80, I am seeking a peaceful death, not a prolonged period of unnecessary suffering,” testified Govatos. “Quite actually, this bill is a matter of life and death for me, for you, and for all Delawareans.”

The Delaware End of Life Options Act would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults in Delaware the option to request and self-ingest prescription medication to peacefully end their lives. The bill features numerous safeguards, including a requirement that two healthcare providers certify that a person requesting medical aid in dying has a prognosis of six months or less to live, and makes it a crime to coerce a terminally ill person into using this end-of-life option.

In a 2020 poll, nearly three out of four Delaware voters (72%), including 77% of Wilmington voters, 70% of New Castle County voters, 71% of Kent County voters, 69% of Sussex County voters, 72% of Democratic voters, 75% of Independent voters and 67% of Republican voters, support medical aid-in-dying legislation in Delaware.

A 2022 survey found that nearly three out of four Delaware physicians (74%) support medical-aid-in-dying legislation and 70% said they would want the option of medical aid in dying for themselves, if necessary.

Medical aid in dying is authorized in 10 states and Washington, D.C., representing more than one out of five U.S. residents (22%). Oregon was the first state to implement the medical practice over 25 years ago in 1997.

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