SB439
SB439 is the House' identical version of the House Bill HB1094. You can read the text of the bill by clicking here.
SB439 makes a single change to the futile care law: If patients do not agree to have their life support stopped, hospitals must continue life sustaining treatment until the patient is transferred to another hospital. In other words, hospitals won't be able to override patients' rights and kill them against their will. That's it. Nothing slick about it--just stop killing patients who choose to continue fighting. No heroic measures or pioneering treatments or extraordinary procedures are required, just basically, don't starve, dehydrate, suffocate, or poison to death the patients who don't want to be killed.
The hearing for the bill was April 12, 2007. See the video of the hearing by clicking here.
The hearing went well for us, but we're concerned that the chair of the
committee might sit on the bill and not hold it for a vote in committee. The
chair of the Senate Health and Human Services committee is Jane Nelson, who
is planning a run for the governor. She knows SB439 has the votes to
pass on both the committee and in the Senate. If she allows that happens,
she loses big with corporate medicine, the biggest contributor to her campaigns,
and she's going to need their big bucks when she runs for governor. On the
other hand, if she votes against the bill, she loses big with the right to
life community. In other words, if she allows a vote on the bill at
all, she stands to lose a lot. (never mind how much the patients stand to
lose if she doesn't allow a vote on it, this is politics!)
So everyone who lives in District 12, Senator Nelson's district,
get on the phone to her office ( (512) 463-0112 or
fax: (512) 463-0923 and let her
know you want her to support and call for a committee vote on SB439. You
can also email her by clicking
here. And please do it NOW! We are almost out of time!
Even if you don't live in Senator Nelson's district, you can let your own
senator know that you want them to encourage Nelson and other members
of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to vote for "treatment
pending transfer" as outlined
in SB439.
Again, please do it NOW! We are almost
out of time!