By Maureen Kennedy

Actor/Director Edward James Olmos has added his voice to the community of Latino supporters of California’s End of Life Option Act (SB 128). Best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance as renowned educator Jaime Escalante in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, Olmos is a veteran social activist. He founded Latino Public Broadcasting, served as an international ambassador for UNICEF and helped clean up the streets of Los Angeles after the Rodney King riots.

In a letter sent July 1, Olmos urged all Assembly members to support SB 128. Olmos’ letter is particularly timely because six Latino Legislative Caucus members serve on the 19-member Assembly Health Committee that is scheduled to vote on the bill on July 7. Olmos’ letter concludes:

“Americans are free to choose how they live—and when the time comes, how they die. All Americans should be able to make this private, personal decision—in consultation with their doctor and family—free from government interference. 

We need your vote on SB 128. Can I count on you to support this legislation?”

Olmos joins other prominent Latino activists who support the End of Life Option Act, including legendary labor leader Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers with César Chávez, and actor Mauricio Ochmann from the popular Telemundo telenovela “El Señor de los Cielos.”

Nearly seven in ten California voters (69%), including 70 percent of Latinos and 60 percent of Catholics, support SB 128, according to a bipartisan poll conducted June 16-21 by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and Probolsky Research.

You can read entire text of Olmos’ letter by clicking here.

You can read full results from the bipartisan poll by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and Probolsky Research by clicking here.

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