The California End of Life Option Act went into effect on June 9, 2016. This compassionate option allows for an eligible terminally ill adult, with a prognosis of six months or less to live, to request and receive a prescription form their doctor that they can self-ingest to peacefully end their suffering.
SB 403, introduced by Senator Catherine Blakespear, seeks to make the End of Life Options Act a permanent law by removing the sunset provision that would expire the law on January 1, 2031. On April 24, 2025, SB 403 was heard in the Senate Health Committee and passed out of committee by a vote of 9-2. The bill next moves to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on April 29, 2025.
We will continue to work on reauthorizing this law, removing the sunset provision, and reducing barriers to access while ensuring safeguards remain intact.
The CDSS issued a notice to adult and senior care facilities about the End of Life Option Act. Residents who qualify for medical aid in dying living in assisted facilities and other adult or senior care facilities are able to take their medication in their home and can’t be evicted for choosing this option.
SB 403 haría Permanente Ley Compasiva en CA
SB 403 Would Make The End of Life Option Act Permanent in California
Grupo de Autores de Escrito Amicus Argumenta que Ley No Discrimina a Personas con Discapacidades
Group Authors Amicus Brief Arguing the Law Does Not Discriminate Against People with Disabilities
Our Introduction to Medical Aid in Dying state packets help explain the medical aid in dying process in jurisdictions where it is authorized*. Compassion & Choices updated the packets to be the most comprehensive resource for those wanting to understand or use medical aid-in-dying laws.
Más Hispanos de California con enfermedades terminales superaron las brechas de equidad en salud al utilizar el End of Life Option Act o Ley de Opción de Fin de Vida que permite a los adultos con enfermedades terminales, en pleno uso de sus facultades mentales, la opción de morir pacíficamente. Esto representó un incremento que…
A new report from the California Department of Health on the End of Life Option Act shows 79% more Hispanics – 43 Hispanic Californians- used the state’s medical aid in dying law in 2023, compared to the 24 Hispanic Californians (less than 3%) who used the law in 202
A Los Angeles filmmaker chronicles her parents’ use of California’s End of Life Option Act and includes other terminally ill advocates for medical aid in dying across the country in a new documentary series streaming on Amazon Prime
Compassion & Choices, the American Association for Justice, and Public Justice Thursday praised a California Supreme Court ruling last week that a patient’s advance directive appointing a healthcare agent to make their medical decisions does not authorize them to sign arbitration agreements on the patient’s behalf. The groups, along with Consumer Attorneys of California, made the same conclusion in a friend-of-the-court brief they…
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