ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL

A bill that would have allowed terminally ill people in California to get a lethal prescription to hasten their deaths has failed in the California legislature. Polls show a solid majority of Californians favor such a law, but Assemblywoman Patty Berg of Eureka and Assemblyman Lloyd Levine of Van Nuys could not muster enough votes in the face of strong opposition from the Catholic Church and activists for the disabled. The Death With Dignity Act cleared two committees but was never brought up for a vote on the Assembly floor. Levine said 33 of the 80 lawmakers had committed to vote for the bill — short of the 41 votes needed. Larry Mantle discusses the failure of the bill with a spokesman for its backers in the Assembly and Ned Dolejsi of the California Catholic Conference.