Compiled by Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Death, and whether we have a right to it on our own time and in our own way, are questions facing the California State Legislature. It is sure to be controversial among those who have religious objections and those who believe some patients might be pressured into seeking their own deaths.
Democratic State Senators Lois Wolk of Davis, Mark Leno of San Francisco, and Bill Monning of Carmel are among a group of legislators announcing their support for “The End of Life Option Act,” described as “a bill to authorize the medical practice of aid-in-dying in California.” Assemblymember Susan Talamantes-Eggman is carrying the legislation in the state’s lower house.
They were joined at a news conference earlier this week by the mother and stepfather of the late Brittany Maynard, 29, who had moved with her husband to Oregon from California so she could choose, under Oregon’s “Death With Dignity” law, the time of her dying from brain cancer.
California’s Senate Bill 128, modeled after the law in Oregon, provides the following:
1) Only qualified, terminally ill adults who are residents of California may request and obtain prescriptions from their physician for medication that the patient has the capability to self-administer. A person may not qualify solely because of age or disability.
2) In order to receive the prescription the terminally ill patient is required to have two physicians confirm the patient’s prognosis of six months or less to live and that the patient has the mental competency to make health care decisions for him or herself.
3) As in Oregon’s legislation this bill requires two oral requests to be made to a physician, a minimum of 15 days apart, in addition to one written request with two witnesses attesting to the request before the prescription can be written.
4) Protections for physicians, pharmacists and healthcare facilities from civil or criminal liability, and from professional disciplinary action, if they fulfill a terminally ill, mentally-competent individual’s request.
5) Voluntary participation by doctors, pharmacists and healthcare facilities.
6) Safeguards against any coercion of patients by establishing felony penalties for coercing or forging a request.
7) A patient’s right to rescind the request.
8) The attending physician of the terminally ill patient who wishes to engage in the End of Life Option Act is required to discuss feasible alternatives or additional treatment opportunities, including, but not limited to comfort care, hospice care, palliative care and pain control.
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The Jewish Citizen
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U.S. Government Executive Branch
CUBA & U.S. –Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, in Cuba to discuss normalization of relations, was criticized on Friday, Jan. 23, by her Cuban counterpart, Josefina Vidal, for having a breakfast with Cuban dissidents. The U.S. has said human rights in always high on the list of its concerns, while the Cuban government said non-interference by foreign powers was one of its priorities.
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U.S. House of Representatives
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH — U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), a new co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus. called on Friday, Jan. 23, for greater funding for the national Institutes of Health (NIH). “The National Institutes of Health is another department of defense that protects us from deadly diseases and illnesses,” he said. “And while we more than adequately fund the Department of Defense, we have significantly cut funding for the NIH, preventing critically important research for cures and treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, stroke, cancer, and Parkinson’s. The likelihood of any one of us dying from a terrorist attack or weapon fired by a rogue nation is very slim, but the odds of suffering from a disease is much more likely. We need to fight those diseases, and we can successfully come up with treatments and cures if we fund the NIH..”
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VETERANS—Preparatory to introducing a Veterans Education Empowerment Act next week, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida) met on Friday, Jan. 23, with veterans attending Nova Southeastern University to gather their views on what may be helpful. She later stated: “Often student veterans face unique challenges when enrolling in college. Some have been away from school for long periods, are older than their peers, have families to support, or struggle with service-related disabilities. These hurdles often lead talented veterans to drop out of school before graduating and limit potential job opportunities. The information collected from the student veterans will help shape the final legislation establishing a grant program supporting veteran student centers.” … Freshman U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-New York) was assigned to two subcommittees of the House Veteran Affairs Committee. The first is the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. The second is the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
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California State Legislature
STATE CONSTITUTION—Freshman State Sen. Ben Allen has become chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Arts. He is also a member of the Senate’s Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review – assigned to the Budget Subcommittee on Education, Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, Committee on Natural Resources and Water, and Committee on Transportation and Housing.
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San Diego Area Local Governments
NEW PROSECUTORS—San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis on Friday, Jan. 23, swore in 12 men and 8 women as new deputy district attorneys, commenting that the new prosecutors had diverse backgrounds including “an NCAA track athlete, a USD adjunct professor, a surf school instructor, an Eagle Scout, a black belt, members of the United States military, and professionals who have worked on international missions to deliver supplies to orphans in Mexico.” The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has about 1,000 employees, including a diverse group of 329 Deputy District Attorneys.
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CANCER FIGHT—San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald posted this message on Jan. 22 on her Facebook page: “I have begun my final phase of treatment for breast cancer and will undergo radiation treatments at the Sharp Grossmont Cancer Center for seven weeks. I am feeling very fortunate to have discovered my tumor early and have excellent insurance and medical care to restore my good health. Next week I meet with representatives from the Komen Foundation to share ideas on how to improve outreach in our District 9 neighborhoods and to residents who may not have access to cancer screening, coverage and care. I have some ideas. I’ll bet you do, too. Please share them here and I will pass them along to the Komen Foundation and my care providers at Sharp.”
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Elsewhere
CORRUPTION CHARGES — New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, has been indicted by federal authorities on public corruption charges which contend, in essence, that people seeking favorable legislation would become clients of his former law firm, and the fees they paid would be split between Silver and his former partner. Already weeks into its new legislative session, the Assembly still was without committee chairs—Silver apparently being too preoccupied to attend to those appointments.
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Political Parties
BOXER SEAT — Philanthropist Tom Steyer earlier this week took himself out of the running in the 2016 contest for the seat now held by retiring U.S. Sen Barbara Boxer (D-California). That left California Attorney General Kamala Harris as the frontrunner for the seat. Previously, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he did not plan to oppose Harris for that position.
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CAMPAIGN FINANCE – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont), referring to a private gathering being held this weekend in Palm Springs, California, that has attracted four potential Republican presidential candidates – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida – said in a press release: ““Americans used to think Iowa and New Hampshire held the first caucus and primary in the nation every four years. Not anymore. Now the ‘Koch brothers primary’ goes first to determine who wins the blessing and financial backing of the billionaire class. This is truly sad and shows us how far Citizens United has gone to undermine American democracy.” Sanders said he has proposed a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and thereby “end the ability of billionaires to buy elections.”
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IRAN SANCTIONS – The National Jewish Democratic Council has lined up behind U.S. President Barack Obama in the disagreement with Israel over strategy for dealing with Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Gary Rosenbaum, chair of the NJDC Board of Trustees, said: “To push forward with sanctions at a time when negotiations are proving to be successful would be misguided. Already, we have seen tremendous progress made by negotiators working to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran has slowed progress on its nuclear program and has rolled it back for the first time in a decade, and inspectors now have unprecedented daily access to Iran’s enrichment facilities. Endangering this work now by imposing unnecessarily harsh sanctions would be folly. Previous sanctions only forced Iran to the bargaining table when the entire coalition agreed to impose them together, and unilateral action would threaten the coalition we have built. A nuclear-armed Iran is indeed an existential threat to Israel and to the national security interests of the United States, and as President Obama stated during the State of the Union, all options remain on the table should the day come when further action is needed. Until that time, we have a responsibility to continue down the path that we, along with our worldwide coalition partners, have already found to be making progress.” … On the other hand, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) takes this position, according to its website: “After a year of negotiations, and generous offers by the P5+1, Iran has not demonstrated a willingness to give up the capability to develop nuclear weapons. Tough pressure brought Iran to negotiations and additional pressure will strengthen America’s bargaining position. It is now essential that Congress take up new bipartisan prospective sanctions legislation to let Tehran know that it will face much more severe pressure if it does not clearly give up the option of developing nuclear weapons.”
Interest Groups
DISABILITIES — Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of RespectAbilityUSA, an advocacy group for individuals with disabilities, testified on Friday, Jan. 23, to the U.S. Labor Department’s Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities. She said her group thus far has met with 33 state governors urging them to adopt a package of proposals to encourage employment for the disabled. She also urged members of the disabled community to emulate Jackie Robinson, the African American r who desegregated Major League baseball when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.”He was great at his job,” commented Mizrahi. “He won games and was a good person in the process. That is how we, in the disability community, can also break down barriers. We can do it by being the talent that employers need, and the people that others will be proud to call co-workers and friends. And, that takes effort and strategic focus.”
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Items dealing with Jewish women in Congress are sponsored by Laura Galinson in memory of her father, Murray Galinson.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. Your comment on any of the items above may be posted in the space provided below or sent to donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com