Monning introduces End of Life Option Act eight years after a similar bill failed.

Dan Diaz probably never have expected his face would appear on the cover of People magazine, or that his wedding photos would circulate all over the Internet.

But Diaz, 43, has become a poster child for his untimely loss. He moved with his late wife, Brittany Maynard, from California to Oregon last year, where she could legally get a prescription for a lethal dose of barbiturates. Maynard, who was 29 and battling terminal brain cancer, died Nov. 1.

Diaz appeared alongside state senators Bill Monning, D-Carmel, and Lois Wolk, D-Davis, Jan. 21 at the state capitol to speak in support of legislation similar to Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act. Monning and Wolk introduced SB 128, the End of Life Option Act.

“We think the time is opportune to have this conversation in California,” Monning says. “We’re looking at respecting the autonomy and choice of the patient.”

The last time the state Legislature considered a similar bill was before Monning’s political tenure, in 2007. That bill died in committee, but Monning is banking on a friendlier political climate this time around.

The bill would allow adult patients who are mentally competent and have a terminal illness, with a prognosis of six months or less to live, to seek a lethal prescription. Oregon, Washington and Vermont have similar laws.

Monning and Wolk scoured the data from Oregon, where the voter-approved law went into effect in 1997. Since then, 1,173 patients have secured a prescription, and 752 have used it to end their lives. To Monning, that discrepancy is proof of patient choice.

“We think there’s also an aspect here of providing peace of mind and some comfort,” he says. “If the suffering reached a certain point, they would have the option.”

That option historically has not sat well with key power players, so Monning has been calculating the bill’s odds of passing. He says he’s discussed the issue with every member of the Senate judiciary and health committees, both of which he serves on, and Gov. Jerry Brown’s staff.

He’s also met with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles, José Gomez, and Bishop of Monterey, Richard Garcia. Garcia did not respond to interview requests.

Catholic Church officials opposed similar bills in ‘06 and ‘07, and Monning expects they’ll position themselves the same way this time around. He’s included language allowing doctors and hospitals to opt out, meaning no physician would be mandated to prescribe lethal drugs.

Monning has also met with representatives of the California Medical Association, which opposed earlier bills. “Long-standing CMA policy is in opposition to physician-assisted suicide because it is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as a healer,” spokesperson Molly Weedn writes by email.

If the bill fails, nonprofit Compassion and Choices has indicated it may lead the charge on gathering signatures for a ballot initiative in 2016.

“We have not ruled out any options,” California Campaign Director Toni Broaddus writes by email. “We are prepared to go to the ballot if that becomes necessary. We have no doubt that such an initiative would pass.”