A Riverside County judge overturned California’s physician-assisted suicide law on Tuesday, giving the state attorney general five days to file an appeal to keep the law in place.
Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia ruled that the California Legislature violated the law by passing the End of Life Option Act during a special session dedicated to healthcare issues, according to the plaintiffs in the case as well as advocates for the law.
“We’re very happy with the decision today,” said Alexandra Snyder, head of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit. “We will now wait and see what the attorney general does.”
The suit was originally filed on the day the law took effect, and California became the fifth state to legalize physician assisted suicide. Now, nearly 1 in 5 Americans live in a state where physician-assisted suicide is legal, according to advocacy group Compassion and Choices.
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