SACRAMENTO - The 55,000-member American Medical Student Association has given its formal support to the California Compassionate Choices Act, adding to a growing list of backers, the bill’s authors announced Tuesday.

“This sends a powerful message that a new generation of doctors understands and respects the fact that when all other options are exhausted people want and need to have choices,” said Berg, D-Eureka, joint author of AB 651, with Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys.

Leana S. Wen, national president of AMSA, said that medical students “recognize that it is an important aspect of care when all other approaches to relieve the suffering of a terminal illness have failed.”

AB 651 would respect the right of terminally ill adults of sound mind who are expected to die within six months to obtain medication that would allow them to hasten their own deaths. The bill includes a long list of safeguards to ensure it is not misused.

Recent nonpartisan polling shows that 70 percent of Californians believe that patients should have this right.

“The endorsement by the medical students reflects the broad support our death with dignity bill has among doctors, clergy, and most importantly the people of California,” said Levine.

The measure is based on Oregon’s landmark Death With Dignity Act, which has been in effect for more than seven years. If the bill becomes law, California will be the second state in the nation to allow the practice.

“As the next generation of physicians, AMSA members place particular importance on the autonomy of our patients,” said Wen. “The future physicians of America thank you for writing this legislation.”

An identical bill, AB 654, has been put on hold in the Assembly so that the state senators can begin deliberating on AB 651.

“This is about personal choice,” Berg said. “This is about a private conversation between a patient and her physicians. Government needs to respect that right, not obstruct it.”