Dr Varipapa Testifies in Legislative Hall

A legislative journey

The first attempt to pass medical aid in dying legislation in Delaware occurred back in 2015, and Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-Newark) has been persistently shepherding the measure through advancements and failures ever since.

This year, House Bill 140, also known as the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law, named in honor of two advocates who died before its passage, has wound its way through the Delaware General Assembly. On Wednesday, the Senate Executive Committee advanced the bill to a Senate floor vote – it’s final step before heading to the desk of Gov. John Carney, where it’s future is uncertain.

The debate over physician-assisted suicide in the current legislative session has already seen some dramatic moments though, including its first approval by the House of Representatives in April. That vote was made possible in part by the vivid testimony from Middletown Republican Kevin Hensley, who changed his longstanding opposition after his own mother exercised the medically assisted suicide option last year in California, where it is already legal.

Just two weeks after her passing in April 2023, Hensley supported the measure through the House Health & Human Development Committee. Testifying through a choked-up voice, Hensley noted that he disagreed with her decision but came to understand that it was her choice to make.