Advocates of assisted suicide are once again pushing their agenda in Maryland. The latest attempt, the misleadingly named End of Life Option Act (H.B. 1328/S.B. 926), is set for hearings at the State House this week. While its proponents claim this legislation provides “options,” the only option it truly offers is death. This bill does not ensure better medical care, greater dignity for the dying or more compassionate end-of-life treatment — it simply authorizes doctors to prescribe lethal drugs so that vulnerable patients can take their own lives.

This is not compassionate. It is a dangerous and misguided attempt to normalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) under the guise of medical care. Marylanders must reject this legislation.

The End of Life Option Act puts the weak, the elderly and the terminally ill at grave risk. It fails to provide adequate safeguards against coercion and abuse, opening the door for undue pressure on patients who may feel like a burden on their families. As the son and son-in-law of parents living in nursing homes, I know firsthand that elder abuse is already a pervasive problem in our society. Assisted suicide will only exacerbate it. There have been documented cases of insurance companies denying coverage for life-sustaining treatments while offering to pay for lethal drugs instead in states where PAS is legal.

In 2008, the state-run Oregon Health Plan declined to cover a prescribed chemotherapy drug for patient Barbara Wagner, citing its high cost and limited benefit. Instead, they informed her that the plan would cover palliative care and physician-assisted dying. Similarly, Dr. Brian Callister, a physician in Nevada, reported cases where insurance companies in California and Oregon refused to cover life-saving procedures for his patients but suggested assisted suicide as an alternative.

Fundamentally, the bill erodes the integrity of the medical profession. Physicians should be healers, not participants in death. The Hippocratic Oath, a longstanding ethical guide for doctors, explicitly states: “I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.” This bill contradicts that principle, undermining the trust that patients place in their doctors. The doctor-patient relationship is already suffering from declining trust, and PAS would only accelerate that trend.

Matthew Eppinette, the executive director at the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, affirms this concern, saying, “Assisted suicide runs directly counter to the very core of the practice of medicine, which is to always care for the patient and to accompany him or her through their illness.” He offered a reminder, “This is why the AMA code of medical ethics warns, ‘Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.’”

Proponents of this bill argue that PAS is about personal choice and autonomy. But true autonomy requires genuine choices — including access to quality palliative care, mental health support and pain management — not just a prescription for death. Rather than encouraging patients to seek comfort and support in their final days, this bill legitimizes despair and offers suicide as a state-sanctioned “solution.”

Depression and hopelessness are common among terminally ill patients, and studies show that those who seek PAS often do so not because of unmanageable physical pain, but because of feelings of fear, loss of control or loneliness. Instead of addressing these deep emotional and psychological struggles, this bill tells suffering individuals that their lives are not worth living.

The reality is that PAS logically leads to full-fledged euthanasia — the intentional killing of patients by doctors, even without explicit consent. That is not a hypothetical slippery slope; it is a documented reality in places where these laws have been enacted.

One final note about the bill: Unlike last year, this year’s bill removes the residency requirement for those seeking suicide. This means that in addition to being a destination for tourists to enjoy the Chesapeake Bay or take in an Orioles game, Maryland will now be a tourist attraction for death.

Instead of legalizing assisted suicide, Maryland should focus on expanding access to palliative and hospice care, ensuring that all patients receive the best possible medical and emotional support. The role of health care should be to relieve suffering through pain management and compassionate care, not to hasten death.

Physician-assisted suicide is not the answer. It endangers the weak and vulnerable, corrupts the practice of medicine, undermines the sanctity of human life and weakens family and societal commitments to care for one another. Maryland lawmakers must reject H.B. 1328/S.B. 926 and stand for true dignity at the end of life — dignity that values every person, especially in their final days.

Jeffrey S. Trimbath (jtrimbath@marylandfamily.org) is the president of the Maryland Family Institute.