skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NV Governor Vetoes Medical Aid-In-Dying Bill

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 8, 2023   

This week, Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed Senate Bill 239, which would have allowed medical aid in dying in Nevada.

The bill would have given mentally competent and terminally ill adults the option to obtain a medical prescription for a peaceful death if they chose to use it.

Hanna Olivas, a terminally ill Nevadan who voted for Lombardo, said she is disappointed, angry and frustrated, calling his decision a "cowardly act." Olivas acknowledged no one wants to think about dying, but for those with terminal illnesses, preparation and keeping their medical autonomy is paramount.

"I absolutely do not want to be in a hospital or in hospice," Olivas emphasized. "And the governor is basically saying 'Well, too bad. Too bad for you. Too bad for your family. And too bad for any other person who is facing a terminal diagnosis.'"

In a statement, the governor said, "while end-of-life decisions are never easy," he could not support a bill allowing what he terms "physician-assisted suicide." He also said he did not feel "comfortable" signing the bill into law due to "recent progress in science and medicine."

Sara Manns, Nevada campaign director for the Compassion & Choices Action Network, called it "absurd and cruel" for the governor to suggest palliative care can alleviate suffering at the end of life, when it is not always the case.

Manns said state lawmakers heard testimony confirming the realities from patients' families and from doctors. Manns thinks the veto statement disregards Nevadans and their experiences.

"We have to really examine what happened here, and figure out how we're going to win in light of this veto, which went against record high polling numbers in support of aid-in-dying access for Nevadans," Manns pointed out. "Thousands of phone calls, thousands of petitions, thousands of emails."

Manns added advocates are already looking at different strategies to continue their fight to grant the right to medical aid-in-dying to terminally ill Nevadans.

Disclosure: Compassion & Choices contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Senior Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021