Improving Access to the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act Bill Summary

In 2016, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 106, “Access to Medical Aid In Dying,” creating the Colorado End-of-life Options Act. Proposition 106 passed by 65% of Colorado voters in 2016, making it one of the most popular ballot measures in state history, with over 1.7 million Coloradans supporting this safe, compassionate medical practice. Under 1 the law, terminally ill, mentally capable adults with six months or less to live can choose to request medication that, once ingested, allows them to peacefully end their suffering.

After over 6 years of experience and data in Colorado, it is clear that many eligible patients are not able to access the law as a result of unnecessary regulatory requirements. In fact, five states with similar medical aid-in dying-laws have improved their laws over the last few years. After carefully evaluating how the current law is working in comparison to other authorized U.S. jurisdictions, some with over ten years of data, SB24-068, proposes modifications to the law that will allow more eligible patients to access this compassionate end-of-life option while still protecting medically vulnerable populations. This bill:

• Allows qualified Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) with prescriptive authority to act as the attending and consulting providers in alignment with their scope of practice. Colorado is one of 28 jurisdictions that give APRNs the authority to independently carry out all medical acts consistent with their education and training, and prescribe all forms of medication, including controlled substances. Allowing 2 APRNs to participate as providers under the End-of-Life Options Act is consistent with their scope of practice and would help address the disparity in access to participating providers, particularly in rural areas
• Allows attending providers to waive the mandatory minimum waiting period if the patient is unlikely to survive it and meets all other qualifications. This bill will allow a qualified patient’s attending provider to waive the waiting period upon that patient’s request if, in their medical judgment, the patient is likely to die within 48 hours of the first request.
• Reduces the 15-day waiting period between the first and second oral requests to seven days. Of the 11 authorized U.S. jurisdictions, Colorado has one of the longest mandatory minimum waiting periods (15 days) between the first and second oral requests. Rather than a safety feature, the additional waiting period required under the End-of-Life Options Act has proven to be a barrier for individuals seeking this option.

Legislation and Sponsors

• SB24-068 – Sen. Joann Ginal and Rep. Kyle Brown

For More Information:

Gina Gentry, Colorado Campaign & Advocacy Manager
[email protected]
Phone: (608) 461-8684

¹Colorado Proposition 106, Physician-Assisted Death Initiative (2016), Ballotpedia. Available at: https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_106,_Physician-Assisted_Death_Initiative_(2016)

²Nurse Practitioner Practice Authority: A State-by-State Guide, Nurse Journal, Updated Nov 10, 2023. Available at: https://nursejournal.org/nurse-practitioner/np-practice-authority-by-state/.

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