Will Assisted Suicide Be an Option for new Mexicans?
HB 47 Makes its Way through the Legislature
Representative Deborah Armstrong (D – District 17) introduced a bill to the New Mexico state legislature on January 7, 2021, (HB 47) authorizing medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. The bill was named the Elizabeth Whitfield End-Of-Life Act after a late district court judge testified for physician-assisted suicide before dying from cancer in 2018. It has, as of date, passed through the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 7-4 vote, the House Judiciary Committee on a 7-3 vote, and passed through a full House vote 39-27. As recently as March 2nd, the bill was passed in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee. The End-Of-Life Act is endorsed by eight organizations, including the NAACP Albuquerque, ACLU of New Mexico, and the New Mexico Public Health Association. At the same time, three groups, including the Greater Albuquerque Medical Association, the New Mexico Association for Home & Hospice Care, and the New Mexico Medical Society, stand in a neutral position on the bill. The New Mexico Republican Party opposes HB 47, but it has received support from the current governor, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham. The Elizabeth Whitfield End-Of-Life Act has been working its way through New Mexico’s legislature since 2019. Still, a past bill seeking assisted suicide, the End of Life Options Act, was denied in the New Mexico Senate in March 2017.
According to the AP, the bill will allow for a shorter, two-day waiting period between prescribing life-ending drugs and when those drugs are made available, instead of adopting the more common 15-day waiting period that other states have sided with. The bill also allows not only physicians but also physician assistants and nurse practitioners to prescribe life-ending medication. It requires potential patients to have an estimated six months to live and be able to ingest the medication on their own. Advocates for HB 47 say that it would relieve patients with terminal diseases from suffering before death. At the same time, those who oppose the bill cite concerns about doctors’ ability to predict accurately whether a patient’s disease is terminal or not. Concerns were also raised over a “conscience clause,” which allows physicians to deny assisted-suicide but forces them to refer patients to another practice.
At this point, it is impossible to tell whether HB 47 will get passed or not. However, a neutral stance from several major medical groups in New Mexico, as well as relatively low opposition to the bill shows an increase in tolerance of assisted suicide in recent years, according to the AP.
Darin Eberhardt '25 has been working with the Advocate since 7th grade and joined the Editorial Board in early 2023. Always finding ways to keep his schedule...
Fran • Mar 15, 2021 at 6:54 pm
There was something different about this article. I didn’t know what it was all day. 🙂 I came back to it several times today and reread it. Then I saw ’25. And then I realized I was reading a school newspaper and an article written by a relatively young student (I gather). It is a very well-written article — I’m not adding “for being written by a school kid’. It IS well written. I am SO impressed. My only critiques are: (1) there are too many long sentences, and some of the sentences are WAY too long. (2) Writing for the public is different than writing a school paper — the American public, in general, reads on an 8th grade level. (3) In the last paragraph, there should be a comma after “low opposition to the bill,…”. I also want to say something about the content: I don’t know anyone with two grey cells to tub together who has any concerns about doctors’ abilities to predict accurately (it’s’ “whether or not” or “if) whether or not a patient’s disease is terminal. Doctors usually hit that very accurately the vast majority of the time. What doctors don’t predict accurately most of the time is the length of time a patient has left to live. My sister has terminal lung cancer. She was given 3-4 years. She’s now starting her 6th year. You know, I don’t like that whole last paragraph. I think it should be: “At this point, it is impossible to tell whether or not HB 47 will pass or not.” And I’m not too sure what “according to the AP” refers to. Ok, that’s it. Very good writing, Mr. Eberhardt. Please go to a university with an excellent journalism department and faculty. You’re going to go far.
leah • Mar 5, 2021 at 1:05 pm
interesting