Senate to decide medically assisted death bill

House lawmakers voted Tuesday to legalize medically assisted death in Hawaii after an emotional floor debate in which some lawmakers recalled family members who suffered terribly before they died, and another told his colleagues the bill they were considering “is against God’s law.”

In the end the measure passed with votes to spare, marking the first time since 2002 that the state House approved a so-called death-with-dignity bill.

It now advances to the state Senate, where the measure is expected to pass. A similar bill was approved in the Senate last year but stalled in a House committee and was never put to a House floor vote.

The House and Senate together approved hundreds of other bills Tuesday ahead of a midsession deadline this week for most House bills to cross to the Senate, and most Senate bills to pass to the House.

Bills that won preliminary approval Tuesday would ban the “bump stock” gadgets that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic automatic weapons fire, and would adopt a new statewide approach to managing feral cats.

Other measures would create “safe zones” where homeless people would be allowed to camp, and would ban the sale of sunscreen that has been blamed for harming coral reefs.

By far the most passionate debate of the day focused on House Bill 2739, which would allow patients with less than six months to live to request prescriptions for lethal doses of medication. House Health and Human Services Committee Chairman John Mizuno contends the bill has the strongest safeguards against abuse in the nation.

Five states — California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia already have legalized medical aid in dying. The Montana Supreme Court also ruled in 2009 that physician-assisted death is legal there under existing state law.

Under the procedures in the Hawaii bill, patients would be required to submit two verbal requests a minimum of 20 days apart and one written request to their attending physicians for a prescription.

The written request would have to be signed by two witnesses who can attest the patient is of sound mind and is acting voluntarily. One of the witnesses cannot be a relative, and one witness cannot be someone who stands to inherit anything upon the patient’s death.

The bill also requires counseling from a psychiatrist, psychologist or clinical social worker after two physicians confirm the patient’s diagnosis, prognosis and competence.

State Reps. Nadine Nakamura, Kaniela Ing and Jarrett Keohokalole all recalled the suffering of family members who endured terminal illnesses.

Keohokalole described the experiences of his cousin, a mother of two children who died at age 47, a year after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “That year was defined by pain,” he said.

“We don’t talk about death in our society. In our local community we just don’t deal with this issue well, even for those of us who believe that there is life after death,” he said. “Many families today, many of us on this floor, are impacted by the slow and often painful fade of a loved one.”

“My cousin and I, we never had this discussion before she passed away. I don’t know what she would have decided, had she been given the chance. But that’s the point: She never had the choice,” said Keohokalole (D, Kahaluu-Aliamanu-Kaneohe). “People deserve a choice, and for those reasons I stand in support of this bill.”

State Rep. Romy Cachola said he believes the bill “is against God’s law. One of the Ten Commandments states, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ It’s not about you can kill with dignity, or suicide, it just plainly states, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ As a Christian I follow that.”

Cachola (D, Sand Island-Kalihi-Airport) also said he opposes the measure because “I still believe in miracles. There’s a lot of miracles happening, not only in Hawaii, but worldwide.”

Voting against HB 2739 were Democratic Reps. Cachola, Henry Aquino, Isaac Choy, Ty Cullen, Sharon Har, Aaron Johanson, Sam Kong, Sean Quinlan and Justin Woodson; and Republicans Bob McDermott, Andria Tupola and Gene Ward.

In other action, several gun control measures, in the wake of last month’s Florida school shooting, moved out of both houses Tuesday.

Among them was Senate Bill 2436, which would shorten the length of time to seven days from 30 days that a person has to surrender all firearms and ammunition once instructed by the courts to do so. The original bill sought a 24-hour period.

Sen. Laura Thielen (D, Hawaii Kai-Waimanalo-Kailua) was one of several senators who voiced concerns that the voluntary surrender period should be shortened even further — to two days.

Bills explicitly banning “bump stocks” and other trigger modification devices for guns cleared both houses, including Senate Bill 2046, which was approved unanimously without debate.

MOVING ON

Other bills that won tentative approval Tuesday included:

>> House Bill 2593, which would require the state to contract with a nonprofit to register caretakers of feral cat colonies around the state. Under the bill, the registered caretakers would then be exempt from state and county laws relating to the feeding and confinement of cats.

State Rep. Matt LoPresti (D, Ewa Villages-Ocean Pointe-Ewa Beach) described the measure as a “horrible bill.”

He said people who support cat colonies “are actually increasing the suffering of animals in Hawaii. They are increasing the suffering of cats, and they are certainly increasing the suffering of those species that these feral cats are decimating — they are decimating endemic species here.”

The bill was signed by state Reps. Ryan Yamane, Henry Aquino, Ty Cullen, Aaron Johanson and Richard Onishi.

>> Senate Bill 2501, requiring the establishment of “safe zones” where homeless people can camp until the Legislature determines that homelessness is no longer a crisis in Hawaii.

>> Senate Bill 2497, requiring the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to create a program offering insurance policies to landlords who rent to tenants with Section 8 housing choice vouchers.

>> Senate Bill 2571, banning the sale of sunscreen protection products that contain oxybenzone, octinoxate or both without a prescription from a licensed health care provider.