Over 100 people testified before the legislature's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
They spoke for and against a controversial bill to allow Connecticut doctors to prescribe medication to help terminally ill patients to end their lives.
Maggie Carner has terminal brain cancer and opposes the bill. She said the state should spend more time and resources on hospice and palliative care.
"To this day my doctor will not give me a timeline for my survival," said Carner, "because we all know that medical opinions can be wrong, leading to people who give up on their treatment and causing them to lose good years ahead of them."
State Senator Gary Holder-Winfield is one of the few committee members that supports the bill. He said his mother was in and out of hospice for four years where they tried and failed to manage her pain.
"I wish my mother were here today," said Winfield. "But I'll tell you what I learned at the end of her life. I learned that a woman who had spent her whole life as a very religious woman, who probably never would've thought of this as an option, found herself in a place where she begged to die. And I learned that as her son I sat there and watched that and couldn't do anything."
This is the third time aid-in-dying legislation has been the focus of public hearings before lawmakers. Governor Dannel Malloy said he struggles with the issue.
"As I said last year I think that people should be able to give direction with respect to their treatment," said Malloy. "This bill in its present form goes substantially beyond that. It's not my bill, I have not advocated for its passage nor am I condemning anyone who is. I'll see what the final bill looks like if it gets to me. Last time it didn't get out of committee."
Only five states allow such a law, including Vermont.
