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‘Right to die’ bill hearing scheduled for Wednesday

HARTFORD–Last year 29-year-old Brittany Maynard captured the nation’s attention when she, very publicly, chose to end her own life with doctor-presc...

HARTFORD--Last year 29-year-old Brittany Maynard captured the nation's attention when she, very publicly, chose to end her own life with doctor-prescribed medications in Oregon. The young woman suffered from terminal stage four malignant brain cancer.

Now the "right to die" debate is re-surfacing here in Connecticut.

A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday on a bill that would allow those who are terminally ill--and mentally competent--to end their own life with a doctor's help.

Proponents call it "dying with dignity." They gathered in Hartford Monday to voice their support.

"My incredible mother suffered for two and a half weeks without any life sustaining support including nutrition and hydration,” said Jennifer Barahona from Fairfield. “I cannot begin to describe to you the horror in the few seconds I have now."

Barahona then generalized her message for the masses: "I support aid-in-dying because no person should have to endure pain and suffering like my mother did."

Groups strongly opposed to the bill include the Catholic Church here in Connecticut. Leaders are collecting signatures at weekly masses for a petition that reads in part: “The Connecticut legislature should not legalize a practice like assisted suicide that easily lends itself to the abuse of the most vulnerable in our society.”

The church is also directing Catholics to the website, DontJump.org, which provides information and testimonials.  Dr. Joe Andrews, who is involved with hospice and palliative care, say on the website:

Most of us physicians would say our job is to advocate for the patient, to provide as much ethical and proper treatment as we can muster without actually putting the means into their hands of ending their own lives.

A Quinnipiac Poll from earlier this month showed more than 60 percent of those polled in Connecticut support allowing doctors to help a terminally ill patient end his or her own life.

A March 2015 Marist Poll, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, has a different result. That survey showed 50 percent of Connecticut residents “Want a doctor, faced with a terminally ill patient, to only help that person manage their illness”.

The bill is up for a public hearing Wednesday in the Judiciary Committee.

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