[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6301238,"mediaKeyId","2489003-86c558246a0bd56ac24b06006d3d54e6","parentId",2489003,"title","Panel rejects medical assistance-in-dying bill after emotional testimony, 8-2","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",1493000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2489003-86c558246a0bd56ac24b06006d3d54e6&start=1493&end=1493","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2489003-86c558246a0bd56ac24b06006d3d54e6/thumbnail_1493000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6301238/Tennessee/Panel-rejects-medical-assistance-in-dying-bill-after-emotional-testimony-8-2","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301238-f79aeb1ccb440aca67bf186f1dc80c90/orig.mp4?Expires=1775149238&Signature=jDg0oz9rwywKqkVEZYU53HRae2ROF4c3bKOnCK9rX-HVnd69VIM~RzJcPS~Fi4wGsYIWccm~KLdiMIZxJzGiNXaNvNx4PnQXRlmqcEvdGTZPNstzzw0f228AoUMOSfp3Fn1JmRO1rQUgl8~odhpgeu8A8HeQC4wwvBZad2jCe5O-fJIYnA6BAOyq-pg6wcihjFiJ0OjNNLVtlaXsGk5OZWWIdhz8NR1zyd--QYaxQAf-MPPyw7rfBGVueLsQnL4zdNGMk3g6YkECtUoQEbIf-iXq1FcAwTIv2c14rYcg~5pfoEZtNVvmX-qAhtfaqhToUT5cqIQQ0JjA5W20vRDgcA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","TN State Legislature","date","2025-03-04T00:00:00Z","article","The Population Health Subcommittee voted 2-8 on March 4, 2025, to reject House Bill 598, a measure that would have allowed medical assistance in dying for terminally ill adults under specified safeguards.

Sponsor Representative Freeman described the proposal as a way to give terminal patients a choice to end severe suffering and said the measure is modeled on statutes in other states. He summarized the procedure to the committee: a verbal and notarized written request, confirmation by an attending physician and a second physician, a psychological evaluation to rule out coercion, a prognosis of six months or less to live, and a requirement that the patient be able to self-administer the medication. \"It's completely voluntary, nobody's going to be forced to do this,\" Freeman said.

Speakers opposed to the bill warned of unintended harms. Djoy Riley, M.D., executive director of the Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture, told the committee, \"Medically assisted suicide, MAS ... harms patients by ending their lives. Vulnerable patients are at increased risk of being coerced or manipulated into accepting it.\" Riley said legalizing the practice could normalize suicide and weaken trust in medicine.

Katie Kelly, policy counsel with Americans United for Life, told members that data from jurisdictions where the practice is legal show it disproportionately affects people with disabilities, the elderly and people living in poverty. Kelly said the bill's mental-health safeguard is limited because it requires a referral only if the physician \"has doubts as to the individual's mental capacity,\" and does not mandate a screening or formal evaluation in all cases.

Stephen Puckett, who said he was speaking for himself, raised enforcement concerns and urged the committee to examine underlying drivers such as pain management and access to care. Several committee members referenced medical and ethical considerations, including the Hippocratic Oath and the sanctity of life. Chairman Kumar said that even sympathetic clinicians take an oath not to advise or practice euthanasia and described difficulty reconciling that oath with a statute permitting medical assistance in dying.

Representative Freeman pushed back against slippery-slope arguments in committee debate, saying other states with such laws have not expanded eligibility to children or non-terminal conditions and that many eligible patients ultimately do not use the option. \"There's a large percentage, more than half of the people who qualify for this program never go through with it,\" he said.

At the roll call, the clerk announced \"2 ayes, 8 nays,\" and the chair declared that HB598 failed. The committee heard multiple public witnesses and held an extended out-of-session public-comment period before resuming deliberations. With the bill defeated in committee, it will not advance to the full House from this subcommittee record.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Population Health Subcommittee\tMar 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","House Bill 598, which would have permitted medical assistance in dying with multiple safeguards, failed in the Population Health Subcommittee by a 2-8 vote on March 4, 2025, after testimony from physicians, ethicists and advocates for and against the measure.","taxTitle","Health, House of Representatives, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",35345,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6301243,"Committee adds amendment and sends bill removing CDC vaccine-schedule language to summer study",1396,114000,1510000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2489003-86c558246a0bd56ac24b06006d3d54e6&start=114&end=1510","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2489003-86c558246a0bd56ac24b06006d3d54e6/thumbnail_114000.jpg","/articles/6301243/Tennessee/Committee-adds-amendment-and-sends-bill-removing-CDC-vaccine-schedule-language-to-summer-study","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6301243-bbc4889ea3075d1863a1db452c19877f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775149238&Signature=AibZSLJD3fZ6ArQsl5~HGB-YCjCngp07RUdMecWDTcggLb6yrSZyiNlqvHsRzZsUxTj3imXbZS3K4pDFjupkP4SI4eRS4UzWa3EDSZ~M5B0jOHl6Zk-FrsAXrA-2yBIARDmah1m1qTp~m4jQQqQE5oNrpvPejJOsVR40pNJ0LtZhb2tJ-sWUftHy1u6ncy8ufBj6ay6PXhompXYpl9-kXHe2JnTlMGCLyZQwW-o1BvtCKnY-MklF8r6M2u4H9-jhGinxo~Jo0qM-pbk40SXXutA4N5OA-iXzgkxZWCS7F-pTIXNYqC7CytZcxd1dNKKOZshgu~RlJc-cobaFMIS1xA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Population Health Subcommittee voted 10-0 on March 4, 2025, to send House Bill 1156 to summer study after adding Amendment 00412, delaying further committee action on whether to remove language in state law that references the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) vaccination schedules.

Sponsor Representative Lynn told the panel that \"This bill removes the unconstitutional code telling parents it's their responsibility to follow the CDC or AAP vaccination schedule,\" arguing Tennessee's law uniquely delegates authority to outside organizations and that the language can complicate custody disputes.

The bill's sponsor said Tennessee is \"right in the middle of the pack\" on vaccination rates and that removing the statutory language would not stop parents from receiving standard medical advice from pediatricians. \"All we're saying is, parents, you're not gonna be charged with a misdemeanor because you're not following this law,\" the sponsor said.

Office of Legal Services attorney Heather Auswell told the committee she had reviewed the cited code sections and that, \"to my knowledge, those sections are not unconstitutional.\" Auswell also said current law includes language stating \"no parent [or] legal guardian shall be criminally prosecuted nor civilly liable for failure to comply with the provisions of this part,\" and that parents are not being prosecuted under the statute as drafted.

Committee members raised constitutional and public-health concerns during the discussion. Chairman Clemens expressed worry about potential declines in vaccination and said the CDC \"is the nation's leading science based data driven service organization that protects the public's health.\" Representative Lynn replied that the bill's goal is to resolve an alleged nondelegation problem in state code and to remove the unique statutory reference to outside agencies.

During committee proceedings, members voted to add Amendment 00412 to HB1156 before taking the motion to defer the bill for summer study. The clerk announced the roll call as \"10 ayes, 0 nays.\" With that vote, the subcommittee postponed further consideration until the summer study period.

Because the committee voted to send HB1156 to summer study, there is no final committee approval or denial at this time. The amendment number and the summer-study referral are now part of the bill record in the subcommittee.","The Population Health Subcommittee voted 10-0 on March 4, 2025, to send House Bill 1156, which would remove statutory language tying Tennessee school-entry vaccination requirements to the CDC/AAP schedules, to summer study after adding Amendment 00412.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Panel rejects medical assistance-in-dying bill after emotional testimony, 8-2

Committee adds amendment and sends bill removing CDC vaccine-schedule language to summer study