The House Health & Human Development Committee Wednesday passed the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act (HB140) in a vote, the bill’s first in 2025. Terminally ill Delawareans and advocates hope the vote signals another momentous session following former Governor Carney’s choice to strike it down in September despite the bill’s historic passage by the Delaware Legislature and the support of 7 out of 10 Delaware voters. The bill next moves to a vote on the House floor.
“We thank our bill sponsor, Representative Eric Morrison, and the entire Health & Human Development Committee for honoring the wishes of their terminally ill constituents once again by voting in favor of the End-of-Life Options Act this afternoon,” said Heather Pope, Delaware campaign manager for Compassion & Choices Action Network. “This could not have been accomplished without the tireless work of our volunteers, advocates, staff, and legislative champions. We all hope this is the first step to the bill crossing the finish line and becoming law in 2025.”
Wednesday’s hearing was marked with emotional debate and personal stories, and was well attended by supporters of the bill. In a poignant moment, advocates applauded Representative Kendra Johnson when she reminded the committee that the General Assembly already vetted and approved HB140 in 2024.
“So, if we already knew that it was a good piece of legislation that people wanted, regardless of how we feel about it, I’m a little conflicted as to everything that I hear right now, because the people said what they wanted,” said Rep. Johnson of the committee’s back and forth. “And I just really want people to keep that in mind, that we represent our constituents, what they want. And they want body autonomy.”
Rev. Cynthia Robinson (left), of New Ark Church of Christ, Newark. Susan Lahaie (right), wife of late medical aid-in-dying advocate Ron Silverio, namesake of the Delaware End of Life Options Act.
Wilmington’s Lynn Knothe delivered a powerful testimony about her father. Chuck Knothe gave his final moments to advocating for the bill’s passage, but sadly died just days before the bill was vetoed.
“The last few weeks of his life, he was existing, he was no longer living,” shared Knothe. “He essentially starved and dehydrated to death, and one of the first questions he asked when he entered hospice was ‘what was the status of the possibility to have [medical aid in dying]?’”
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.
Despite former Governor Carney’s veto of the bill only a few short months ago, current Governor Matt Meyer, who ran his campaign on the issue, has publicly pledged to sign it into law.
“Everyone deserves the right to a compassionate and humane end to life’s journey when faced with a terminal illness,” he said on Facebook following the veto. “I stand with those who support medical autonomy and the right to die with dignity and, if elected, will make this law. We must continue together to champion policies that respect the personal freedoms of all Delawareans.“
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.
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