Posts Tagged: complications

Keep the safeguards in California’s ‘End-of-Life’ law

An illustration of a terminally ill patient comforted by a relative. (Image: Lightspring, via Shutterstock)

by MARILYN GOLDEN posted 05.13.2021

OPINION: Assisted suicide is already legal in California through the so-called End-of-Life Option Act, narrowly passed by the California Legislature and signed by then-Governor Brown in 2015. The bill was opposed by both Democrat and Republican Assembly members and Senators, but passed during a contested Special Legislative Session on Medi-Cal funding.

OPINION: The Legislature had a critical opportunity to help increase access to medical services and reduce the wait times for patients who need ocular services. SB 492 would have allowed doctors of optometry to perform limited laser and minor procedures around the eye and freed up ophthalmologists to perform the complex surgical procedures only they are trained and educated to perform.

OPINION: Simply put, learning to do surgery requires actually doing procedures on live human patients in sufficient numbers to develop competence. Indeed, sufficient numbers are vital to develop the judgment to choose the right procedure and – particularly important — manage complications (including rare ones) that may arise.