Rep. Mike Freiberg and Sen. Kelly Morrison presented the bill, SF1813/HF1930, they’ve coined the “End of Life Options Act” in a press conference on Thursday at the State Capitol.

The Golden Valley state representative and Deephaven state senator were joined by locally-based advocates for the legislation, which is being backed by the national “Compassion and Choices.” The Oregon-based organization, once known as the Hemlock Society, is helping push similar legislation in more than 30 other states. Oregon is well known for becoming the first state in the nation to enact “right to die” laws for certain terminally ill patients.

In addition to Oregon, other states that have enacted similar legislation include: Washington, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine and New Mexico. Washington, D.C. also has a similar law in place.

[My former state is a train wreck, and it’s only getting worse. It won’t be long before this “compassionate option” becomes an expectation — just as has happened everywhere else these kinds of laws get passed, especially in relation to state-controlled access to medical care. — Ed]