PAS: What to Expect in the 2017 Legislative Session
Happy New Year!
The 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly is about to start and we again expect legislation that seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide to be introduced. We wanted to ensure our allies were aware of the important dates of the upcoming legislative session, as well as share some helpful resources as we advocate against PAS legislation. The next 3+ months will be very busy and we know that “Death with Dignity” supporters will be more motivated than ever after their victories in Colorado and Washington D.C. in 2016.
The first official day of session for the 2017 General Assembly is January 11th. However, bills have already been pre-filed for introduction and will continue to be filed through the end of January. Last year, the physician-assisted suicide bills were filed late in the month, on January 28th. We’ll be watching closely for when they are filed this year.
The legislative committee hearings on the House and Senate versions of the bill were held in 2016 on February 19th and 25th respectively. We expect similar timing this year; although it is possible the hearings could come earlier in February. As before, one of our biggest efforts in 2017 will be organizing people to testify against this dangerous legislation at each of the hearings to ensure that committee members are aware of the diverse and strong opposition to PAS legislation.
After the hearings, the General Assembly will continue to meet and debate legislation until April 10th.
As we prepare for the hard work to defeat this bill again this year, we are asking our supporters to do 3 things right away:
- Sign up for our email list. We communicate regularly with our supporters, including ways to help, and we want to make sure you are receiving these emails:
http://stopassistedsuicidemd.org/take-action/sign-up-to-help/
- “Like” our Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/marylandagainstPAS
- Follow us on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/StopPASMaryland
Here’s to a great 2017, including another defeat of the “death with dignity” bills.