LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — By a single vote, the Nevada Senate approved a bill Tuesday that allows a terminally ill patient to self-administer medicine intended to kill them.

The bill is also described as the end-of-life pill, and it contains legal protections for medical professionals involved in the process.

Republican Senator Jeff Stone’s passionate argument against Senate Bill 239 (SB239) was followed by an 11-10 vote in the Senate — a rarity this legislative session with two Democrats joining Republicans in opposition. Democratic senators James Ohrenschall and Dina Neal joined Republicans in voting against the bill.

Stone quoted the American Medical Association’s guidance on the matter: “Physician suicide is fundamentally inconsistent with a physician’s professional role.” He also cited religious reasons for opposing the bill and said any form of assisted suicide is ripe for coercion and abuse by “greedy loved ones.”

SB239 will be considered next in the Assembly. The bill distinguishes the step of self-administering medication from suicide — mandating that the death certificate cite the terminal illness as the cause of death.

Despite a busy schedule on Wednesday — 30 bills were passed on the Senate floor and another 13 passed in the Assembly — senators slowed the proceedings to make statements before crucial votes.

SB172, which would allow a minor to consent to treatment for a sexually transmitted disease, prompted statements from Democrats and Republicans. The bill passed on a 14-7 vote.

A seemingly harmless bill naming the wild mustang Nevada’s official state horse brought the longest speech as Republican Senator Ira Hansen of Sparks talked for more than seven minutes on how the designation would be a mistake.

“Watching a band of mustangs run across the sagebrush plains of Nevada is a great thrill to this today,” Hansen said. “But I also recognize that because they’re not an indigenous species, we have to manage those populations and the failure of doing that is harming — significantly harming — the native populations.”

He said rural counties opposed the bill because of the “ecological disaster” brought on by wild horse populations.

Eureka County Republican Senator Pete Goicoechea said he appreciated Hansen’s comments, but, “What horse would we make Nevada’s horse? Clearly, the mustang.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.