Medical aid in dying legislation was signed into law on May 20th, 2025 by Governor Matt Meyer. As of January 1st, 2026, medical aid in dying is an accessible end-of-life care option for qualifying patients in Delaware.
On 4/9/2026, SB274 was introduced. The bill aims to modernize the DMOST (Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment) form and align it more closely with national standards.
Victory in Delaware! Delaware is now the 12th jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying.
Medical aid in dying is for people who are already dying. It is a lawful medical option for qualified adults with a terminal illness, a prognosis of six months or less to live, who can make their own healthcare decisions and have the ability to take the medication themselves.
Medical aid in dying is not suicide or euthanasia. Compassion & Choices supports people seeking information about lawful end-of-life care options in the United States. We do not provide instructions or guidance for ending your life outside supportive medical care.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, in crisis, or thinking about suicide, help is available right now. You are not alone, and your pain deserves care. Call 988, text 988, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at https://988lifeline.org/chat/
The Delaware House Health & Human Development Committee released a medical aid-in-dying bill to the House floor at the end of a hearing Wednesday featuring Delawareans with incurable diseases and family members of loved ones who died in agony because they didn’t have the option of medical aid in dying. The committee voted 8 to…
El Comité de Salud y Desarrollo Humano de la Cámara de Representantes de Delaware presentó el miércoles una medida de ley de ayuda médica para morir al pleno de la Cámara al final de una audiencia, en la que se presentaron residentes de Delaware con enfermedades incurables y familiares de seres queridos que murieron en…
An excerpt from the Delaware Online/The News Journal op-ed, “Passing end of life legislation in 2022 would honor deceased advocates,” by Mark Hayden—whose husband was Compassion & Choices Volunteer Storyteller Tom La Follette—published July 8, 2021: “Despite suffering from painful lesions throughout his body caused by a terminal cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma, my late husband,…
The Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End of Life Options Act (HB 140), which would allow medical aid in dying in Delaware, was reintroduced in the General Assembly earlier today by Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-District 23). The bill has the most cosponsors, nine, since its first introduction in 2017. They include: Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend…
An excerpt from the Delaware Business Times, “Viewpoint: COVID-19 crisis demonstrates urgent need for end-of-life planning,” by Compassion & Choices President and CEO Kim Callinan, published April 15, 2020: Thousands of Americans have died from coronavirus, with countless heartbreaking stories. Many families have been separated from a loved one who dies alone in a…
An excerpt from the Delaware State News commentary, “End-of-life planning moves to the forefront,” by Compassion & Choices President and CEO Kim Callinan, published April 15, 2020: Thousands of Americans have died from coronavirus, with countless heartbreaking stories. Many families have been separated from a loved one who dies alone in a hospital bed….
An excerpt from Delaware Public Media article, “Physican-assisted suicide bill finds support in a new poll,” published March 11, 2020: …House Bill 140 would give terminally ill adults with under six months to live and unbearable suffering the option to request prescription medication they can use to die peacefully. A survey conducted between January…
An excerpt from WHYY public radio article, “Medication assisted suicide gets broad support in Delaware poll,” published March 11, 2020: New Jersey and Maine became the eighth and ninth states to allow people with terminal illnesses to end their lives with medical help in 2019. Now, lawmakers in Delaware are hoping a new poll…
In a recent statewide survey, 72 percent of Delawareans who plan to vote in November say they support medical-aid-in-dying legislation introduced in the state legislature. The Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End of Life Options Act (HB 140) would allow a terminally ill adult who has decision-making capability the right to request and self- administer medication…
To receive personalized support, resources, and information.
Leave a message at 800.247.7421 to get connected.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing, or prefer written communication, you are welcome to reach us by email at [email protected]
Mail contributions directly to:
Compassion & Choices Gift Processing Center
PO Box 485
Etna, NH 03750
Compassion & Choices is a 501 C3 organization. Federal tax number: 84-1328829
