Delaware House passes end-of-life option bill for terminally ill adults

DOVER, Del. (WPVI) -- Delaware's House of Representatives has passed a bill giving some terminally ill residents the right to take their life.

The bill allows mentally capable adult residents, who have been given a prognosis of six months or less to live, the option to request and obtain life-ending medication.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

For Wilmington resident Lynn Knothe, this is personal. Her father died from esophageal cancer.

"As he became ill, he really wanted to not put my mother, brother and myself through any suffering, and he didn't want to suffer," said Knothe.

Her father's dying wish was to urge then-Governor John Carney to sign the legislation that passed both chambers last year.

Carney vetoed it four days after Lynn's father's death last September.

Now, for the 10th time, Delaware lawmakers are trying once again to get the bill passed. It would allow those who have a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live the option of a dignified death.

The person must have decision-making capacity and self-administer the medication once it's prescribed by a medical professional. It's something Lynn says her father would have used, had it been a legal option.

Governor Matt Meyer has signaled his support if the bill passes the Senate, saying in part, "The option to choose that path should also be left up to doctors, patients, and their families, free from government interference."

Currently, medical aid for euthanasia is legal in 10 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

New Jersey implemented its law in 2019, and in the first four years, 287 people opted for a dignified death.