Opponents of assisted-death law are cleared to collect signatures for referendum
Debbie Ziegler, who supported the assisted-death law, holds up a photograph of her daughter Brittany Maynard after the senate voted and approved the passage of the aid-in-dying legislation on the senate floor, in Sacramento on Sept. 11, 2015.
Reporting from Sacramento — Opponents of California’s newly signed assisted-death law have been cleared by the secretary of state’s office to collect petition signatures for a referendum on the measure.
Soon after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law two weeks ago, its detractors said they would seek to overturn it. They hope to qualify a referendum for the 2016 state ballot.
The official referendum petition, prepared by California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris, says the law allows “a terminally ill, mentally competent adult to obtain a prescription for a life-ending drug, provided two doctors confirm the diagnosis and prognosis, and other safeguards are met.”
The referendum proposal was filed by a group called Seniors Against Suicide, represented by clinical psychologist Mark Hoffman. The California Catholic Conference, the association of Catholic bishops who have vocally opposed the measure, said in a statement this month that they support the effort to nullify it.
“As citizens of this state, we all have the right and, we would emphasize, the duty to ensure that the voice of the people, especially those most vulnerable, is heard,” they said.
To place a referendum on the ballot, the sponsors must collect 365,880 signatures of registered state voters by Jan. 4, 2016.
Follow @melmason for more on California government and politics.
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