Senator wants to start conversation on assisted deaths

Published 8:52 am Tuesday, March 24, 2015

ST. PAUL — A state senator says it’s time for a conversation about physician-assisted death in Minnesota.

Sen. Chris Eaton doesn’t plan to push for a law allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives this year, though she has introduced a bill. The Brooklyn Center Democrat wants public input on the idea in time for the next legislative session.

A national nonprofit advocating for so-called “right to die” laws says bills to allow the practice have been introduced in more than 15 states. It’s currently legal in Oregon, New Mexico and three other states.

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Eaton’s bill would require two doctors to sign off on a terminal patient’s state of mind before prescribing medication that would end the patient’s life. The patient would have the final say over whether to use the medication.