HB1283 Gets Bipartisan Support in Senate Sent to Interim Study
(Concord, NH – May 16, 2024) Advocates for a bipartisan bill that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults in New Hampshire to have the option of medical aid in dying expressed deep sadness that the Senate voted 17-7 Wednesday to refer to the bill for interim study but vowed to push for the bill’s passage in 2025.
The House passed the NH End of Life Options Act (HB 1283) in March by a 179-176 vote, the first time a Republican-led legislative body ever approved a medical aid-in-dying bill in the nation.
“We are heartbroken on behalf of terminally ill New Hampshire residents who desperately need this peaceful dying option by the Senate’s vote to refer the bill for interim study. There is no need for further study when we have decades of data and experience from 10 other states proving that medical aid in dying is a time-tested option to relieve unbearable suffering when no other option provides it,” said Rebecca Brown, a Sugar Hill resident and director of the NH Alliance for End of Life Options.
“We thank our bipartisan sponsors Rep. Marjorie Smith and Rep. Bob Lynn for their leadership in the House, and Sen. Debra Altschiller, co-sponsor in the Senate. And we thank all the House and Senate members who voted to respect the wishes of 71% of New Hampshire residents who support passing a medical aid-in-dying law. We know that public support for medical aid in dying is so strong that it is just a matter of time before we pass it.”
CONTACT:
Rebecca Brown
Director, NH Alliance for End of Life Options
Sugar Hill, NH
(603) 728-5557