Assembly Vote on Bill To Legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide Could Come Down to One Vote
The future of a bill (AB 654) that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in some cases could be decided by a margin of one vote, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Assembly is expected to vote on the measure Thursday or Friday.
According to the Chronicle, the bill will not win approval in the Assembly if more than seven Democrats vote against it or abstain from voting. So far, four Democrats have voted "no" or abstained in committee votes on the bill, and two additional Democrats said they likely will vote "no" in the floor vote. If those Assembly members vote against the bill, its passage will come down to a single vote. The bill is sponsored by Assembly members Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) and Patty Berg (D-Santa Rosa).
As of Wednesday, Assembly members Jerome Horton (D-Inglewood) and Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont) said they planned to vote against the bill, while Assembly members Juan Vargas (D-Chula Vista) and Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) remained undecided. In addition, Assembly member Gene Mullin (D-San Mateo) said he will vote "no" or abstain.
The bill would go to the Senate for consideration if it is approved by the Assembly (Hubbell, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/1).
KPBS' "KPBS News" on Monday reported on the upcoming vote. The segment includes comments from Will Shuck, spokesperson for Berg (Goldberg, "KPBS News," KPBS, 5/30). The complete transcript is available online. The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
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