Question: Does the expansion of Hawaii’s medical-aid-in-dying law make it possible for visitors to rely on this law, which assists the terminally ill who don’t want to prolong their suffering?
Answer: No. Only Hawaii residents who are adults, mentally capable and medically confirmed to have six months or less to live may hasten their deaths under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 327L, which is known as the “Our Care, Our Choice” Act.
According to HRS 327L-13, factors demonstrating state residency include but are not limited to possession of a Hawaii driver’s license or civil identification card, registration to vote in Hawaii, evidence that the patient owns or leases property in Hawaii, or filing of a Hawaii tax return for the most recent tax year.
HB 650, HD 2, SD 1, which Gov. Josh Green signed into law June 1, to immediate effect, did not change the residency requirement. However, it did amend the “Our Care, Our Choice” Act to expand access for otherwise eligible Hawaii residents.
Terminally ill patients must follow multiple steps before being prescribed lethal medication. In some cases they were thwarted by a lack of doctors or other authorized providers, especially in rural areas on the neighbor islands, or by a long wait built into the process, the bill said. It addressed those concerns by:
>> Authorizing advanced practice registered nurses to practice medical aid in dying “in accordance with their scope of practice and prescribing authority.”
>> Authorizing licensed APRNs and clinical nurse specialists with psychiatric or mental health training and licensed marriage and family therapists to provide counseling to qualified patients. Psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers were already authorized to do so.
>> Reducing to five days the mandatory waiting period between the two verbal requests required for a qualified patient to obtain the lethal prescription. Previously, the waiting period was 20 days.
>> Waiving the mandatory waiting period for qualified patients who are not expected to survive the five days.
Read the amendments at 808ne.ws/3XvwVif.
Q: Can my 96-year-old wife obtain a handicap parking permit and not be a driver? She enjoys shopping with me, but nearby parking is not always available.
A: Yes, if your wife’s doctor or advanced practice registered nurse certifies that she has a mobility disability that prevents her “from being able to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest or requires the use of a mobility aid device,” according to the state Disability and Communication and Access Board. Eligibility is based on mobility disability, not age. Passengers can apply for a standard disability parking permit; they don’t have to be a driver.
By contrast, only licensed drivers with a mobility disability are eligible for the disabled paid parking exemption permit (green placard), which exempts the holder from certain parking fees.
Find detailed instructions to obtain a disability parking permit on the DCAB website, health.hawaii.gov/dcab.
Aerial refueling
The Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing hopes people will look skyward this morning to see air refuelers flying above southern and eastern Oahu. The flyovers, set to occur between 8:35 and 9 a.m., “celebrate 100 years of aerial refueling excellence,” the Guard said in a news release. “The flyovers will be conducted by KC-135 Stratotankers from the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron and will pass over several areas, including Kalaeloa, Punch Bowl, Kaneohe and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,” it said.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
