NAPA, Calif.,-- Life Legal attorneys appeared in court this morning on our challenge to California's assisted suicide law. We filed the lawsuit one year ago, shortly before the "End of Life Option Act" went into effect. Our opponents, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the Director of the California Department of Public Health, filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Today the judge denied the motion to dismiss, which means the case moves forward!
The End of Life Option Act strips vital legal protections from patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The Act does not require patients seeking so-called "aid-in-dying" drugs to undergo a mental health evaluation, even though the majority of individuals who receive a terminal diagnosis experience depression, anxiety, and other treatable mental health conditions that could lead them to seek suicide.
