LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On April 20, 2017, Charlie and Francie Emerick, a Portland, Oregon couple who were married for 66 years, held hands on the last morning of their lives. TIME Magazine had reported at the time that the couple, both terminally ill, died together in their bed on that day after taking lethal doses of medication that they obtained under the state’s Death with Dignity law.

Oregon was the first state to legalize medical aid-in-dying back in 1997. Since then, nine other states and Washington, D.C. have expanded patients’ power to make decisions regarding their end-of-life care. Now, some Michigan lawmakers want their residents to have the same rights.

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On November 9th, four Michigan Democratic Senators introduced a Death with Dignity legislative package comprised of Senate Bills 678-681. The senators who co-sponsored the bills include Sens. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores), Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) and Veronica Klinefelt (D-Eastpointe).

This legislation would allow terminally ill patients the option to request and use prescribed medication to end their lives peacefully on their own timeline.

Compassion & Choices, a national group that tracks aid-in-dying, reports that 73% of Michigan voters overall support medical aid in dying, an option for mentally capable, terminally ill adults to peacefully end unbearable suffering.

Sen. Cavanagh, lead sponsor of the bill package said in a statement, “So many of us share the painful experience of having witnessed a loved one suffer, knowing they could have benefitted from an expanded end-of-life care option. Patients deserve the trust and respect to make their own medical decisions, including the choice to determine their own timeline to end ongoing suffering during the oftentimes dark battle they face. The Death with Dignity Act honors the autonomy and dignity of every person, ensuring they maintain power in the entirety of their life. This is a compassionate policy that would provide Michiganders and their loved ones with peace of mind when facing terminal illness.”

In the Democrats’ press release about the bill package, they said that embedded in the package are numerous regulations, safeguards, and considerations that ensure the safe practice of the policy, including determining that the patient is terminally ill with fewer than six months to live; ensuring the patient is able to make the voluntary decision of medical aid in dying; a minimum 15-day waiting period; access to insurance coverage in treatment and benefits in death; licensing requirements, limitations, and protections for prescribing physicians; and criminal penalties for non-compliant physicians.

“We have all witnessed and supported a loved one facing a terminal illness,” said Sen. Hertel, Chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee. “This legislation has important safeguards while allowing an individual to make this difficult decision with their physician and family. With its passage, Michiganders will have access to this compassionate option that is available in other states.”

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Sen. Singh said about the bill package, “Granting individuals the autonomy to choose dignified end of life care is not just an act of compassion but a testament to the value of personal freedom. This legislation offers the solace of choice, while also providing critical safeguards to ensure its application is safe and protects our most vulnerable patients.”

“All individuals have a fundamental right to dignity,” said Sen. Klinefelt. “This legislation will finally provide Michiganders facing terminal illness with the freedom they deserve to write the final chapter of their own story with grace. Whether they choose comfort care, hospice care or pain management – this bill ensures that all options are accessible and respected.”

The final chapter for Charlie and Francie Emerick was that they were able to die together peacefully on that day in April, six years ago, and their daughter Sher Safran said about their decision, “They had no regrets, no unfinished business. It felt like their time, and it meant so much to know they were together.”