The Virginia Capitol is seen on March 4, 2010, in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
"This legislation allows an eligible individual the autonomy to decide when suffering becomes too great and to alleviate that suffering on their own terms by dying peacefully in their sleep should they choose," she said in an earlier subcommittee hearing.
Religious and socially conservative groups opposed the measure.
"Assisted suicide facilitates tragedies and makes the most vulnerable even more vulnerable," Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said in a joint statement issued last month. "Legalizing it would place the lives of people with disabilities, people with mental illnesses, the elderly, and those unable to afford healthcare — among others — at heightened risk of deadly harm."
Some medical providers also opposed the measure, arguing that contributing to a suicide is antithetical to the profession’s standards.
A companion bill was introduced by Del. Patrick Hope in the House of Delegates but failed to make it out of the chamber.
Monday's decision to carry the bill over was made with an unrecorded voice vote. Several Democrats on the committee expressed support for the legislation in concept and said they hoped or expected it could pass in the future.
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"I'm confident that there will be a day when this moves forward," Hope said.
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