A decade after California’s End of Life Option Act was enacted, the state legislature today passed Senate Bill 403 (SB 403) in a bipartisan Assembly floor vote, which would amend the sunset provision and make medical aid in dying a permanent end-of-life care option in the state. Through the collective impact of dedicated advocates, medical professionals, and legislative champions who have been on the ground advocating for this option since the beginning, SB 403 swiftly moved through the Senate in June and the Assembly Health and Judiciary Committees in July.
“Compassion & Choices applauds the state legislature for their bipartisan work in support of this compassionate bill, which would rightfully grant eligible, terminally ill adults permanent access to the option of medical aid in dying in the state of California,” said Leslie Chinchilla, California state campaign manager for Compassion & Choices Action Network. “We hope Governor Newsom will follow the legislature’s lead and ensure access to medical aid in dying for terminally ill Californians who want a death aligned with their own values, beliefs, and priorities – beyond the year 2031.”
SB 403, introduced by Senator Catherine Blakespear, would eliminate the sunset provision in the state’s End of Life Option Act, which gives a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with six months or less to live the option to request a prescription from their healthcare provider for medication they can take to die on their own terms. Apart from the sunset provision, which currently causes the law to expire on January 1, 2031, all other requirements of the law remain unchanged, including the multi-step request process, eligibility confirmation, and multiple patient requests.
The bill will next be remitted to Gov. Newsom for his consideration, the final stop on its journey to becoming state law. Notably, Gov. Newsom signed a bill in 2021 to improve access to medical aid in dying in the state by shortening the mandatory waiting period and requiring healthcare systems and hospices to post their medical aid-in-dying policies on their websites, increasing transparency for terminally ill Californians who urgently need the information.
Three in four Californians (75%) support the End of Life Option Act, including the majority of every demographic group surveyed, including Hispanic Californians (68%), Black Californians (70%), Asian Californians (76%), and white Californians (82%), according to the California Health Care Foundation.
In California, 1,281 terminally ill Californians obtained prescriptions for medical aid in dying and 884 patients (69%) took the medication in 2023. The aid in dying medication was prescribed by 337 unique physicians. The underlying illnesses of the individuals who utilized medical aid in dying were: cancer: 63.8%, cardiovascular: 12.1%, neurological disease: 8.8 %, respiratory diseases 8%, and other causes 7.2%. The report states that 93.8% were receiving hospice or palliative care.
Medical aid in dying is authorized in 11 other jurisdictions, including: Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana (via a state Supreme Court ruling), Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Washington, D.C. and Vermont.
Compassion & Choices
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