HARTFORD — A bill that would permit terminally ill patients to request a doctor's help to end their lives is unlikely to come up for a vote this year, but activists on both sides of the controversial issue are already bracing for a showdown in 2015.

"Choice at the end of life is the most personal issue you will ever face,'' said Tim Appleton, Connecticut director for Compassion & Choices, a national advocacy group supporting the legislation.

"We are out meeting with people every day about this and people are telling us very personal stories about their loved ones or themselves and how they are desperate for this choice,'' Appleton added. "We are looking forward to coming back next year and getting this bill passed.''

Critics of the bill are buoyed that the measure appears sidelined for now. "We think a lot of legislators probably don't want to handle a hot-button issue," said Stephen Mendelsohn of the group Second Thoughts Connecticut. "The majority of the testimony opposed the bill."
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-aid-in-dying-no-vote-0326-20140325,0,4793204.story