California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 282, allowing any person to “aid, advise and encourage” suicide under the state’s assisted suicide law. Previous law made a person who deliberately influenced or helped another individual commit suicide guilty of a felony.

LifeNews.com reported that AB 282 “grants complete legal immunity to anyone who wants to facilitate the death of someone defined as ‘terminally ill.’” A patient’s condition is considered terminal if, left untreated, it is expected to lead to death within six months. 

Alexandra Snyder, executive director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, argued that the new law will increase “pressure on vulnerable patients to prematurely end their lives.”