DOVER, Del. (AP) - Democratic lawmakers are again trying to pass legislation allowing doctor-assisted suicide in Delaware.
The bill introduced Thursday is similar to legislation that was first proposed in 2015 and resurrected in 2017 but which has never made it to a floor vote.
The legislation allows an adult diagnosed with a terminal illness and expected to die within six months to request prescription drugs to end his or her life. A consulting physician would have to confirm the attending doctor's diagnosis.
The bill also mandates that the death certificate for anyone who commits doctor-assisted suicide falsely state that the cause of death was the underlying illness, not suicide. That provides a mechanism that would allow a beneficiary to collect on a life insurance policy that otherwise excludes coverage for suicide.
