Death with Dignity Legislative Update: 1–18–23

State legislatures across the country are already introducing bills that expand existing Death with Dignity legislation or open up access for the first time. And we know more are on the way. Here’s what’s happened in the first two weeks of the January session:

New York

New York State Assemblymember Amy Paulin re-submitted the Medical Aid in Dying Act (A995) for consideration. The bill, modeled after the Oregon law, is notable because it does not include a residency requirement or a waiting period to receive physician approval. New York is one of our highest priority states for 2023,and we expect Senator Brad Hoylman will soon introduce a companion bill in the New York State Senate.

Connecticut

On January 17, 2023, Connecticut’s General Assembly introduced HB05487, which is a medical aid-in-dying law modeled on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, and HB05486, which states that if a MAID bill is passed, the death certificate must say that the cause of death was “suicide.” The stated purpose is to let the next of kin know that the patient has died by “assisted suicide.” This is a prime example of how our opponents try to make patients and practitioners ashamed of medical aid-in-dying.

Washington

Washington’s Death with Dignity Act went into effect in 2009, and last year, lawmakers attempted to amend the bill to expand access. On January 9, 2023, a group of legislators reintroduced their bill (HB1035), which prohibits healthcare entities from restricting service providers’ ability to administer medical aid in dying.

A second, more expansive amendment, has also been introduced in both the State House and Senate. These bills (SB 5179/HB1281) would:

• Allow physicians, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners to approve and prescribe drugs for medical aid in dying.
• Expand the list of qualified mental health practitioners who can confirm competency to use medical aid in dying.
• Change the waiting period from fifteen to seven days, which can be overridden if a patient is not expected to survive or is experiencing intractable suffering.
• Allow another person, as requested by the qualified patient, to pick up the medical aid-in-dying medication. Additionally, medications could be delivered via delivery service, including United States postal service or similar private parcel company with a signature upon delivery.

Oregon

An amendment to the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (HB2279) was introduced at the request of the Oregon Health Authority and had its first reading on January 10. This amendment would remove the Oregon residency requirement, based on a recent Oregon Court case calling for removal of the provision. The bill has been referred to the Behavioral Health and Health Care committee.

Indiana

In Indiana, Representative Matt Pierce introduced HB1011, an End of Life Options bill, for the 3rd year in a row. This bill is directly modeled off of the original Oregon Death with Dignity law. If passed, this would be the first midwest state with a Death with Dignity law.

Virginia

Senator Ghazala Hashmi introduced the Health care; decision making, end of life, penalties bill (SB930), which is very similar to the original Oregon Death with Dignity legislation but does not include a mandatory 15-day waiting period. Washington, D.C. passed a Death with Dignity law in 2017, and Virginia would be the first southern state to follow suit.

Six bills in two weeks is a strong start to this year’s legislative sessions. Follow this page for more updates on Death with Dignity advances across the country!