As voter support has shifted slightly, health care service providers could potentially aid-in-dying for state residents following the 2024 legislative session.
According to a recent Maryland Matters article, lawmakers are hoping the 2024 legislative session might be the time to pass aid in dying legislation. This would make Maryland the twelfth state to legalize some form of physician-assisted-suicide. Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk, chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee, confirmed that medical aid in dying legislation will be introduced this session.
From the article:
“We have been working on it during the interim,” Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) said in a written statement. “I am hoping that this is the year the bill is successful. It has been carefully drafted and thoughtful. I hope the bill is allowed to come to the Senate floor.”
While most government agencies have not taken a position on aid-in-dying bills in the respective states where it has passed, monitoring, researching, and reporting on these cases has been a major priority for state agencies. In some locations health departments and public health authorities have been mandated by law to educate the public on this option and monitor cases. County funded, local health departments in Maryland could play a significant role in tracking these candidates and outcomes in local communities, and would likely be required to take on both educational and reporting requirements in each jurisdiction.
