HB 6425, the assisted suicide bill, is dead for this year. The Judiciary Committee has adjourned without taking up the bill, thus ending its chance to become law in 2021.
This marks our ninth annual victory against assisted suicide in Connecticut. FIC and our allies have defeated this bill every year since 2013.
It also marks the closest shave we have ever had. Thanks in large part to COVID-era restrictions, such as our being forbidden from testifying or lobbying legislators in person, the bill made it out of a committee for the first time ever. Our adversaries seem to have poured more money into Connecticut than ever before, with radio ads, Facebook ads, push polls, unsolicited text messages on people’s cell phones, etc. For all these reasons, it was a steeper climb than normal.
But this year also included the most coordinated strategizing effort with our allies in the CT Catholic Conference, the Patients Rights Action Fund, Second Thoughts Connecticut, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and the Knights of Columbus that we have ever undertaken. Even a split between the Catholic Church and 2nd Thoughts CT over strategy had a positive effect, giving our ideologically diverse coalition more media attention than it would otherwise have received.
As always, nothing is truly dead until the session is over. Though highly unlikely, it is theoretically possible for assisted suicide to return as an amendment to another bill.
Nevertheless, we are breathing a lot easier right now. We won today. And again, on what was our closest shave ever.
Tomorrow, we dust ourselves off and return to the fight against all the other horrible things our state government is attempting to impose on us. Tonight, though? Tonight, we thank God. And we raise a glass. To victory!
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