California right-to-die bill lacks votes ahead of Assembly hearing amid Catholic opposition
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, file photo, Debbie Ziegler, center, the mother of Brittany Maynard, speaks in support of proposed legislation allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients during a news conference at the Capitol, in Sacramento, Calif. A bill, authored by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, left, and Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, right, that would allow California physicians to help terminally ill patients end their lives, is struggling to muster enough support ahead of a legislative vote Tuesday, July 7, 2015. Maynard, a 29-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman who had terminal brain cancer, moved to Oregon where she could legally end her life. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) (The Associated Press)
A bill that would allow California physicians to help terminally ill patients end their lives is struggling for support ahead of a legislative vote.
The Catholic Church and other religious groups are mobilizing against the right-to-die legislation ahead of a hearing Tuesday in the Assembly Health Committee.
The bill's authors already postponed the vote because they didn't have enough support for it from fellow Democrats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The holdouts include lawmakers from heavily Catholic districts in the Los Angeles area, where the archdiocese opposes the bill.
Right-to-die advocates hoped their efforts would be helped by the publicity surrounding Brittany Maynard, who moved from California to Oregon to end her life in November. Despite bills in several states, none has passed right-to-die legislation this year.