Compassion & Choices staff and advocates celebrate the passage of Delaware’s End-of-Life Options Act in April.
Compassion & Choices advances end-of-life choice as a fundamental right in state houses, courtrooms and communities across the nation. We believe that end-of-life autonomy shouldn’t depend on where you live, and this year, we made incredible progress in expanding access to medical aid in dying. Medical aid in dying allows terminally ill, mentally capable adults with a prognosis of six months or less to request medication they may choose to self-ingest. United with our volunteers and advocates, we’re primed to transform this momentum into enduring success.
On May 20, 2025, Governor Matt Meyer signed the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act, making Delaware the 12th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying and the first since 2021. It takes effect January 1, 2026, or sooner if regulations are finalized.
Delaware’s success reflects years of collaboration among lawmakers, clinicians, community advocates and voters. The bill passed the House 21–17 and the Senate 11–8.
Named for advocates Ron Silverio and Heather Block, the law fulfills the vision they championed until their deaths in 2018, finally making their dream a reality for all Delawareans.
This is about compassion, dignity and respect for personal choice.
On June 9, 2025, the New York Legislature passed a bill to authorize medical aid in dying. This milestone crowns decades of work by our predecessor organizations and our current campaign led by Corinne Carey, senior campaign director for New York/New Jersey.
It belongs to advocates like Brian Moffett, who spent his final weeks with ALS urging passage, and his son Jake, who carried the fight forward. It also honors the 28 advocates that Compassion & Choices is aware of who died during the campaign. Our advocates led with love; they showed that the fight for medical aid in dying is compassion in action. New York’s progress is a beacon for other states and proof that values-driven advocacy changes law. The bill awaits the governor’s decision.
In Montana, where medical aid in dying has been recognized since the 2009 Baxter v. Montana decision brought by a Compassion & Choices lawsuit, the House rejected SB 136 by a bipartisan 42–58 vote, stopping a measure that would have criminalized physicians for providing lawful care to qualifying adults. Compassion & Choices has fought for Montanans for over 15 years, protecting Baxter from similar bills.
Montanans from all walks of life, including clinicians, chaplains, hospice teams, first responders and families carrying on the legacy of their loved ones, emphasized compassion, privacy and autonomy as Montana values. Every time Montanans succeed in protecting medical aid in dying in their state, they honor advocates like Bob Baxter, the Billings Marine veteran whose case established protections, and his grandson T. J. Mutchler, who later used the law to end his suffering from terminal cancer.
We applaud the bipartisan coalition in the House of Representatives which came together across the aisle to rightfully strike down this draconian bill.
I want to be empowered to make my own end-of-life decisions. … I need to be allowed to pick the day and manner of my choosing, and have my wife and children at my side.
End-of-life choice should not stop at a state line. Residency requirements in several authorized jurisdictions block otherwise qualified terminally ill adults from accessing care. As part of our ongoing fight to ensure medical aid in dying is available to all qualified patients regardless of their ZIP code, Compassion & Choices filed a federal lawsuit in May on behalf of a terminally ill Minnesota resident and two Colorado physicians challenging the residency requirement in Colorado’s medical aid-in-dying law.
As a person living with stage 4 cancer, plaintiff Jeff McComas joined the lawsuit despite knowing that he would likely not live to benefit from the case himself.
In January 2025, in New Jersey, Compassion & Choices filed the opening brief appealing a federal judge’s September 2024 ruling that upheld the state’s residency requirement. On August 29, 2023, Compassion & Choices filed a lawsuit on behalf of two cancer patients — Judith Govatos and Andrea Sealy — and two physicians who participate in the practice of medical aid in dying, Dr. Paul Bryman and Dr. Deborah Pasik. Andy Sealy died on August 4, 2024, without access to medical aid in dying.
We know removal of the residency requirement is achievable. Following successful lawsuits from Compassion & Choices, Oregon and Vermont ended enforcement and then repealed residency provisions in statute. When jurisdictions remove barriers or authorize access, the impact extends beyond borders. People near state lines gain pathways to care, clinicians get clearer guidance and lawmakers see workable models with proven safeguards. Every win in court to remove state barriers is a win for the whole nation.
I’ve advocated for years to simply ensure that my final days will be defined by peace without needless suffering. I hope the court will reconsider their ruling and give me a chance to speak for myself.
After a law passes, we don’t stop — we build momentum in that state, ensuring that everyone has fair, equitable access to medical aid in dying. We partner with community organizations, public health officials and healthcare providers to co-design information that reflects local values and is available in multiple languages and accessible formats. Our team equips care provider training and resources with practical guidance so that medical aid in dying is part of modern, patient-directed care and never on the fringes. We will keep improving, expanding and defending access to medical aid in dying so that people across the nation can make values-aligned decisions with dignity.
Healthcare options should not be denied based on zip code. The residency restriction functions more
as a barrier to access than a safeguard.
This year shows what is possible when people fight for the care they deserve. If you want this option in your state, we’re ready to equip you for that journey. You bring your voice, your community and your determination and we’ll provide the tools and resources you need to help ensure everyone has care that aligns with their values. We honor those who didn’t live to see these milestones and stay committed to those still waiting. Together, we’re building a future where every person can make end-of-life decisions with dignity and peace.
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PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
Compassion & Choices is a 501 C3 organization. Federal tax number: 84-1328829
