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 29, SB 403 was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee and passed by a vote of 10-1 with 2 abstentions.
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.
(San Mateo, CA – Aug. 13, 2015) Jennifer Glass, a national end-of-life options advocate from San Mateo, Calif., passed away Tuesday night, Aug. 11. Glass, 52, died at home from the most common type of lung cancer seen in nonsmokers. Before she died, Glass stated her final campaign request: that the fight to authorize medical…
By Maureen Kennedy Actor/Director Edward James Olmos has added his voice to the community of Latino supporters of California’s End of Life Option Act (SB 128). Best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance as renowned educator Jaime Escalante in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, Olmos is a veteran social activist. He founded Latino Public Broadcasting,…
(Sacramento, CA – June 25, 2015) Latino labor leader and civil right activist Dolores Huerta today publicly endorsed the End of Life Option Act (SB 128) and encouraged Latino legislators to vote for it. Her endorsement is critical because she is a leader in the labor, civil rights, and Latino communities. Several Latino legislators serve on…
Nearly seven in ten California voters (69%) support a bill the California Assembly is considering that “would allow a terminally ill adult who is mentally competent the option to request and receive aid-in-dying medication from a physician,” according to a bipartisan poll. Just two in ten (20%) voters oppose the bill, called the End-of-Life Option Act…
California volunteer Susan Meister has a powerful motivator for supporting “The End-of-Life Option Act” in her state. “I’ve been very close to some of the ethical issues that physicians deal with every day: the miracles that new technology can bring to medicine and the horrors that it wreaks on people who don’t seem to grasp…
(Sacramento, CA – Jan. 21, 2015) Just a few months after 29-year-old Californian Brittany Maynard had to utilize an Oregon law to end her suffering from terminal brain cancer, two California senators today announced they have authored similar legislation in California. Brittany Maynard’s mother and husband, Compassion & Choices, and a diverse array of supporters praised…
When Barbara Engdahl read about Compassion & Choices in a magazine five years ago, she immediately called to volunteer. Her career as a social worker helping patients and their families deal with injury, illness, disability and death – and her own mother’s death when she was 11 years old – have given Barbara the wisdom and acceptance…
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
