Lawmakers in the Nevada Senate have narrowly advanced a measure allowing terminally ill patients to end their life on their terms.
Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 239 on an 11-10 split vote.
The measure would allow patients to self-administer a life-ending medication if two physicians agree the patient is facing a terminal diagnosis with less than six months to live.
Senator Edgar Flores is the bill's sponsor. He said giving patients the ability to make the final decisions about their healthcare is a moral imperative.
"I think with this bill passing, there's going to be the opportunity for an individual to be like, if I am in a scenario where I am suffering so much, I want to be in my house. I want to be with my family, and when suffering is too much, I want to say that's enough."
Opponents of the measure include the Nevada Catholic Conference, which said in a statement that "dignity of all human life, until the moment of natural death."
The measure now heads to the Assembly. If passed, Nevada would become the 11th state with a medical aid in dying law.
