After the Assembly Health Committee in the California state legislature failed to garner the necessary votes, a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a new bill with the same language (AB X2-15) that would allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally ill patients.

Should this second attempt fail, advocates for assisted suicide have vowed to take the issue to the ballot next year.

At the announcement of AB X2-15, Dolores Huerta (co-founder of the United Farm Workers) said a majority of Latinos support this measure and African American pastor Rev. Madison Shockley made the religious case for the right to die.

Governor Jerry Brown, through a spokesman noted that the special session on health care financing was not the appropriate venue to consider the issue, that is should be reconsidered next year.

Given that this measure was rejected by the minorities legislators in the Assembly Health Committee, it will be interesting to see if Huerta and Rev. Shockley will be enough to sway some members.

You can find more information about this latest bill here