Massachusetts

Status of Medical Aid in Dying

On January 17, 2023, bill S.1331/H.2246, which would authorize medical aid for dying in Massachusetts, was introduced by Sen. Jo Comerford, Rep. Jim O’Day, and Rep. Ted Philips and was assigned to the Joint Committee on Public Health. February 7, 2024, the End of Life Options Act was moved favorably out of the Joint Committee on Public Health as a Senate bill, carrying the House bill. On April 25, 2024, the bill moved favorably out of the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where it is now awaiting action.

The Massachusetts End of Life Options Act would authorize medical aid in dying in Massachusetts, bringing the full range of end-of-life care options to terminally ill Massachusetts residents. Email your lawmakers today and urge them to cosponsor the bill.

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Latest Massachusetts News

For 1st Time, Mass. Joint Committee on Health Care Financing Approves End of Life Options Act
April 29, 2024

Terminally ill patients and caregivers of loved ones who have died with unbearable suffering praised the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing for approving the End of Life Options Act (S.1331/H.2246) and referring the bill to the Senate Ways and Means Committee last Thursday. The bill’s approval follows bill supporters’ riveting testimony at the Legislature’s Public Health…

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Comité Conjunto de Massachusetts sobre Financiamiento para Cuidados de Salud Aprueba por Primera Vez, Medida de Opciones Para el Fin de Vida
April 29, 2024

Pacientes con enfermedades terminales y cuidadores de seres queridos que han muerto con un sufrimiento insoportable, elogiaron al Joint Committee on Health Care Financing por aprobar el End-of-Life Options Act (S.1331/H.2246) o Medida Opciones para el Fin de Vida, y por pasar la medida al Senate Ways and Means Committee el jueves pasado. La aprobación…

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Terminally Ill Patients and Caregivers Thank Legislators for Advancing End of Life Options Act
February 8, 2024

Terminally ill patients and caregivers of loved ones who have died with unbearable suffering praised the Joint Committee on Public Health (JPH) for approving the End of Life Options Act (S.1331/ H.2246) Wednesday afternoon. The bill’s approval follows bill supporters’ riveting testimony at a JPH hearing last October. Sponsored by Senator Jo Comerford, Representatives James O’Day, and Ted Philips, and cosponsored by 84…

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Palliative and Emergency Medicine: A Powerful Partnership for Patients
October 24, 2023

Palliative care in emergency departments is bringing a critical shift in the end-of-life experience. Every year there are over 137 million visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs) in the United States. Adults 65 and older use the ED more than any other age group, and half of older adults will visit the ED in the…

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Personas con Enfermedades Terminales y Cuidadores Ofrecen Poderoso Testimonio en Audiencia sobre el End of Life Options Act
October 23, 2023

Varias decenas de personas con enfermedades terminales y cuidadores de seres queridos que han muerto con un sufrimiento insoportable, brindaron un poderoso testimonio en una audiencia el viernes  ante el Joint Committee on Public Health, donde hacen un llamado a la legislatura estatal para que aprueben el End of Life Options Act o Medida Opciones para el…

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Terminally Ill Patients, Caregivers Share Riveting Testimony at Hearing on End of Life Options Act
October 20, 2023

Dozens of terminally ill patients and caregivers of loved ones who died with unbearable suffering testified at a Friday hearing before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health to urge the state Legislature to pass the End of Life Options Act (H.2246/S.1331). Sponsored by Senator Jo Comerford and Representatives James O’Day and Ted Philips, and cosponsored by 80 other lawmakers, the bill…

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The Lowell Sun: Letter to the Editor: Pass medical aid in dying legislation
April 4, 2023

An excerpt from The Lowell Sun letter to the editor, “ Pass medical aid in dying legislation,” by North Chelmsford resident Kathi Geisler, published March 21, 2023: The fight to pass a medical aid in dying bill has been raging in Massachusetts for over a decade. How can this be when 77% of Massachusetts residents report that they…

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