Senate committee passes end-of-life care bill

BOISE (AP) — Senate lawmakers want to make sure Idaho patients' end-of-life treatment decisions are respected by doctors in all instances.

The Times-News reports  that the Senate State Affairs committee passed a bill Monday prohibiting medical personnel from denying life-prolonging treatments and medicines to patients who have requested them.

Cottonwood Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, the bill's sponsor, says physicians and nurses currently can deny those treatments if they've tried and failed to find another doctor willing to treat the patient.

Nuxoll says patients should maintain the right to extend their lives as long as they desire. They could still decline treatment under the legislation.

Idaho Medical Association representative Ken McClure endorsed the bill after extensive changes that he says made the measure acceptable to medical doctors who deal with death every day.