First introduced in 2015, Nevada is on the verge of becoming the 11th state to pass a medical aid in dying law in the United States. SB239, sponsored by State Senator Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas) and 18 co-sponsors, passed the State Senate on April 19th with a vote of 11-10, and the State Assembly on May 24th with a vote 23-19. 

The bill now awaits the signature of GOP Governor Joe Lombardo. 

We hope Gov. Lombardo has studied an April 2023 poll of 600 Nevada voters that showed 82% of voters supported this bill, which was an increase from 72% favoring MAID in a 2021 poll. 

We also hope Gov. Lombardo considers this request from Lynda Brooks-Bracey, a Las Vegas 57-yr old mother of four dying of pancreatic cancer:  

“Governor Lombardo, I invite you to come to my door the final week that I pass away, and stay in my house with my family and see what they have to go through and what I have to go through before you make the decision to say medical aid and dying shouldn’t be here for your constituents,” she said. “Give us the option here in Nevada like so many other states have. This isn’t something everybody has to participate in, but it’s another choice.” 

Bill sponsor Sen. Edgar Flores did not always support MAID; he tells how he changed his mind after a difficult death of a loved one. Watch his impassioned 8-minute testimony as he introduces the bill to the Health and Human Services Committee on 3/14/23.