Connecticut assisted suicide bill appears doubtful

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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Advocates for legislation allowing Connecticut physicians to provide life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients say it's unlikely the bill will progress further this session.

Tim Appleton, state director for Compassion and Choices Committee, said Wednesday the legislature's Judiciary Committee will not vote on the bill. This year marked the first time the committee has considered the legislation.

Similar bills failed to get out of the Public Health Committee during the previous two sessions.

Appleton said each year lawmakers fail to act "prolongs the suffering for thousands of terminally ill Connecticut residents and the people who love them." He said the state eventually will pass it.

Opponents of the bill urged their supporters to keep calling lawmakers, urging them to vote against the bill. The committee's deadline to act is Monday.