Health Care

Medical aid-in-dying bills debated in blue states

Bills advanced in Virginia and Minnesota, while similar measures were introduced in Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.
The Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, File)

Medically assisted dying bills advanced in Virginia and Minnesota last week and are gaining momentum in several other Democratic-controlled legislatures, where lawmakers and advocates have sought to connect the issue to calls for bodily autonomy that have resonated with voters across the political spectrum since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“This is a bill that emphasizes personal autonomy at the end of life,” Minnesota Rep. Mike Freiberg (D) said at a committee hearing Thursday. He said the bill would give Minnesotans the option to “end their suffering when it becomes unbearable.”

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