Terminally Ill Patients will Soon be Offered with Suicide Option in California

In California, patients who are terminally ill will have an option to end their lives instead of continue suffering the disease they have. The option was under the law of End of Life Option Act that will be applied on June 9 this year.

A 46-year-old retired army sergeant named Matt Fairchild is suffering pain from advanced melanoma that is spreading in his bones and brain. His condition does not allow him to go out. He also takes 26 prescription drugs every day.

According to Fairchild, he refuses to say that he is fighting against cancer, because he knows he is the one losing the fight. He doesn't want to spend his last days in agony, he added.

According to CNN, California became the fifth state that allows suicide law that gives the patients who are terminally ill to choose between living their lives suffering from pain or end their lives with drugs prescribed by doctors. Religious groups and disability rights activist are against this law.

Fairchild said he feels ease when he knows that the law will become effective in June 9. Having that law will enable him to say his last farewell to his family and friends, he added.

As reported by Inquisitr, the suicide law or Aid-in-dying law was already signed by Governor Jerry Brown last year. An advocacy group called Hemlock Society, attentively campaigned to get the law approved. The law was medically assisted by suicide law allowing doctors to give deadly doses of medicine to the terminally ill patients.

According to Toni Broaddus, a campaign director of Hemlock Society California said, "We are telling people to start talking to their doctor now." The patients should consider the option and begin to talk about it with their respective doctors.

Senator Bill Monning, law's co-sponsor said "I certainly expect it's going to provoke conversations within families and between terminally ill patients and physicians."" We're glad to finally have arrived at this day where we have a date certain," he added.