BY DANIEL GAITAN | daniel@lifemattersmedia.org

The fate of California’s controversial “Death with Dignity” legislation will be decided by the state’s Roman Catholic governor this fall.

On Sept. 11, the state’s Senate approved a controversial measure that would allow physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients with a life-expectancy of six months or less. The bill now moves to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has yet to indicate where he stands on the issue.

Brown’s office declined to comment for this article, despite repeated requests. He may choose to exercise his power to veto the bill or sign it into law. He will have 12 days to act once his office receives it.

The End of Life Option Act, largely modeled on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, would require terminally ill patients to submit two oral requests (a minimum of 15 days apart) and one written request to his or her attending physician. The written request must also be signed in front of two witnesses who must attest that the patient is of sound mind and not being coerced. Patients must self-administer the drug.

The legislation has divided state Democrats and was stalled in the Legislature earlier this summer. It was reintroduced during a special legislative session in August, a tactic which Brown condemned. Proponents of the practice used the high-profile death of 29-year-old cancer patient Brittany Maynard to generate support in the nation’s most populous state.

In 2014, Maynard was diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma and was given six months to live. Maynard and her husband, Dan Diaz, moved from California to Oregon to obtain doctor-prescribed barbiturates.

Working with the right-to-die advocacy group Compassion & Choices, Maynard used her story to raise awareness about the practice and inspire other terminally ill Americans to end their lives on similar terms.

However, one of the most vocal opponents to physician-assisted suicide is the Roman Catholic Church, which teaches that the practice minimizes the sanctity of life and harms patients and their families. Brown is a former Jesuit seminary student who early in life flirted with the idea of becoming a priest.

The bill has the support of most of Brown’s constituents, according to polls. An August survey conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California – Berkeley found that 76 percent of Californians support some form of aid-in-dying legislation.

“Strong majorities in both major political parties and among independent voters back the idea, as do people in most other demographic categories,” according to research director Jack Citrin. “Support is noticeably lower only among African-Americans, but a narrow majority is in favor.”