(KMJ) – California lawmakers gave final approval Friday to a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives.
The measure faces an uncertain future with Gov. Jerry Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian who has not said whether he will sign it.
Senators approved the bill on a 23-14 vote after an emotional debate on the final day of the legislative session.
Opponents said the measure could prompt premature suicides.
The measure to allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication succeeded on its second attempt after the heavily publicized case of Brittany Maynard . The 29-year-old California woman with brain cancer moved to Oregon to legally take her life.
A previous version passed the Senate but stalled in the Assembly until lawmakers there took it up in a special legislative session. The move to bypass the usual process drew criticism from the governor.
The revised measure includes requirements that the patient be physically capable of taking the medication themselves, that two doctors approve it, that the patient submit several written requests, and that there be two witnesses.
Doctors in Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Montana already can prescribe life-ending drugs.
