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.
(Los Angeles – May 23, 2016) Compassion & Choices today announced the promotion of Oregon state director Matt Whitaker as its new California state director. A board-certified music therapist with clinical experience in long-term acute care and geriatrics, Whitaker will lead the organization’s campaign to help Californians access the state’s new medical aid-in-dying law that…
(Los Angeles, Calif. – May 19, 2016) Compassion & Choices praised a study released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research on implementation guidance on California’s End of Life Option Act that takes effect on June 9. The study, “Implementing Aid in Dying in California: Experiences from Other States Indicates the Need for…
(Sacramento, CA – March 10, 2016) Compassion & Choices today praised the California legislature for closing the special session on healthcare that will allow the historic End of Life Option Act to go into effect in 91 days, on June 9. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law last October after the legislature passed…
California’s new aid-in-dying law remains safe: A group aiming to overturn the End of Life Option Act failed to collect enough signatures to get their referendum on the November ballot. “An overwhelming majority of Californians supports the End of Life Option Act,” said Compassion & Choices California Campaign Director Toni Broaddus. “Opponents simply could not…
(Los Angeles, CA – Jan. 5, 2016) An attempt to overturn the state’s new aid-in-dying law has failed to collect enough signatures to qualify a referendum for the November ballot, according to news reports. “An overwhelming majority of Californians supports the End of Life Option Act,” said Toni Broaddus, California campaign director for Compassion & Choices,…
This op-ed original appeared online for the Daily Journal on December 11, 2015. When Gov. Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act back in October, California became the largest state in the nationto authorize doctors to offer the option of medical aid in dying to terminally ill adults facing unbearable suffering. Since the Legislature…
Compassion & Choices achieved an enormous victory on Friday when, after months of frenzied strategizing, campaigning and lobbying, California lawmakers gave final approval to the End of Life Option Act. Following emotional debate, the Assembly passed the bill with support 43 to 34 on Wednesday, and senators approved it on a 23 to 14 bipartisan…
(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,…
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