Ventura Endorses Aid-In-Dying Guidelines
The policy allows doctors to engage with patients about their options, but also draws a line that patients cannot ingest fatal medications at Ventura County Medical Center, Santa Paula Hospital and a network of county-affiliated clinics.
Ventura County Star:
Ventura County Sets Policies, Draws Line For Aid-In-Dying Law
Betsy Davis, of Ojai, saw California's new aid-in-dying law as a way to wrestle control of her life and death away from the crippling disease ALS. "You become trapped inside your own body," Kelly Davis said of her sister's decision to use fatal medication to die after watching the sun set in Ojai on July 24. "She said, 'I do not want to be entombed.'" California's End of Life Option Act became law in June. On Tuesday, the same day Kelly Davis told her story, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved the same kind of policies established by health systems across the state. In a 4-1 vote, supervisors endorsed guidelines allowing doctors at county-run hospitals and clinics to make individual choices on whether to participate in a law aimed at allowing terminally ill people to use medication to end their lives. (Kisken, 11/15)