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.
Compassion & Choices Action Network is proud to share that, due to our advocacy and the leadership of Senator Catherine Blakespear and other legislative champions, SB 403, the bill to make the End of Life Option Act permanent, has been signed into law on October 3, 2025, by Governor Gavin Newsom. We are so pleased that in times of great uncertainty, we have worked alongside champions and partners to ensure that everyone in the Golden State will continue to have access to the End of Life Option Act in perpetuity.
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.
Compassion & Choices has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that patient protections required by a California law do not violate the First Amendment. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on March 20 in the case, National Institute…
The California End of Life Option Act (CA EOLOA) took effect in June 2016, allowing terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to pursue medical aid in dying as an end-of-life care option. California became the most populous and diverse state to pass a medical aid-in-dying law, and many wondered how access…
Wolf Breiman, whose cancer prompted him to publicly support legislation to give terminally ill Californians the option of medical aid in dying, died peacefully from pneumonia on December 31. He passed away at a hospital, while surrounded by his wife, Debbie Diamond, family and friends. He was 89. “He was such a trooper who never…
Ahn v. Hestrin, California On June 16, a superior court ruled that a lawsuit to overturn the California End of Life Option Act will proceed to trial to determine the case’s merits. Last year, the court accepted a friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of Compassion & Choices urging it to deny the plaintiffs’ motion for…
This article originally appeared on www.vox.com As usual, I held the door handle and took a deep breath so I could enter the room fully present. This time, a person wringing his hands locked his eyes on mine anxiously. “I am hoping you can help me,” he puffed. “My other doctor just left me out to…
This story originally appeared on www.latimes.com on Aug. 21, 2017 Some doctors in California felt uncomfortable last year when a new law began allowing terminally ill patients to request lethal medicines, saying their careers had been dedicated to saving lives, not ending them. Many healthcare systems designed protocols for screening people who say they’re interested in physician-assisted…
(Sacramento, Calif. – June 27, 2017) The California Department of Public Health today released its first report detailing usage information during the first half-year of the End of Life Option Act’s implementation. The law gives mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to live the option to request a doctor’s prescription for…
From the CPDH: The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today released the 2016 End of Life Option Act (Act) first Annual Report. The Act, which became law June 9, 2016, allows qualified California terminally ill adults to obtain and self-administer aid-in-dying drugs. The Act requires CDPH to provide annual reports, including information on the…
One year after the California End of Life Option Act took effect, data released by the California Department of Public Health and compiled by Compassion & Choices show the law is working very well. At least 500 terminally ill adults in California have received prescriptions for medical aid in dying based on inquiries to Compassion…
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