A terminally ill Baltimore woman is urging her state senator for a yes vote on the End-of-Life Option Act after hearing that she opposes the bill, which she voted for in 2019, because it is only one vote short of passing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Baltimore resident Diane Kraus
“I cannot believe that I am hearing that my own state senator, Jill Carter, would not vote for this bill. She voted for this legislation in 2019 and her staff said she would vote for the bill two weeks ago. I urge her to publicly declare her support for this bill so the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee can hold a vote on it,” said Diane Kraus, a Baltimore occupational therapist who worked for 23 years in hospice and homecare and has terminal metastatic breast cancer that has spread to my soft tissue, bone, lungs, liver, and brain.
“My eye cancer has spread to my liver. It will never be cured,” said Silver Spring resident Lynn Cave. “Once this cancer destroys my liver, most likely I will have about two weeks to live before all my internal systems collapse. It is a punch in the gut that lawmakers may not pass this bill this year. I am worried sick that I may not live long enough for them to pass it during the next legislative session.”
“We cannot express how disappointed we are that the Legislature once again may not pass the End-of-Life Option Act because of one senator,” said Donna Smith, Maryland campaign director for Compassion & Choices Action Network. “It has been nine years since this bill was first introduced in 2015. Every year, I attend funerals of terminally ill advocates who desperately plead with lawmakers to pass this compassionate legislation and then they die in needless agony because they didn’t pass it.”“We are deeply grateful for the support of Gov. Moore, Senate President Ferguson, 70% of Maryland voters, and the leadership of our lead bill sponsors, Senator Waldstreicher and Del. Hill,” Smith concluded “And we are counting on them to ensure this compassionate legislation becomes law.”
About Compassion & Choices/Compassion & Choices Action Network:
Compassion & Choices is comprised of two organizations that improve care and expand options at life’s end: Compassion & Choices (501(c)(3)) educates, empowers, defends, and advocates; the Compassion & Choices Action Network (501(c)(4)) focuses exclusively on legislation, ballot campaigns, and limited electoral work.
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