Compassion Legal: The End-of-Life Justice Center at Compassion & Choices filed a motion to intervene on behalf of two Delaware residents and Compassion & Choices Action Network Friday in response to a complaint filed December 8 by a coalition of plaintiffs attempting to permanently block the Ron Silvero/Heather Block End-of-Life Options Act from taking effect on January 1, 2026.
“We disagree with the complaint and its allegations. This filing is part of our efforts to ensure that qualified, terminally ill people in Delaware have access to a full range of end-of-life healthcare options beginning January 1, as planned,” said Veronica Darling, Director of Litigation with Compassion Legal. “The Act is a voluntary, patient-directed, end-of-life healthcare option.”
The plaintiffs challenging Delaware’s Heather Block/Ron Silverio End of Life Options Act include Institute for Patients’ Rights, United Spinal Association, and Not Dead Yet. This is the third lawsuit of its kind filed by this coalition since 2023; they also challenged access to existing medical aid-in-dying laws in California and Colorado. Access to medical aid in dying was not interrupted in either of those cases, and the California lawsuit was dismissed at the district court level.
“It is clear that this is a coordinated, national legal attack on legislation authorizing access to medical aid in dying and we’re prepared for a long fight,” added Ms. Darling.
Compassion Legal’s clients include Susan Boyce, a Delaware resident living with a rare, incurable, and irreversible genetic form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who wants the option to access medical aid in dying once she qualifies.
“The knowledge that the Act allows me control over the timing of my death has given me peace of mind and freedom to fully live my life without fear of death and the dying process,” Ms. Boyce said. “Terminally ill Delawareans should not have to feel powerless. I decided to participate in this lawsuit to ensure the voices of people living with illnesses that will become terminal who want access to medical aid in dying are heard in this process.”
Compassion Legal is also representing Vickie George, a Delaware resident living with primary-progressive multiple sclerosis and quadriplegia, who is an advocate for healthcare autonomy.
“We are suing on behalf of ourselves and everyone still fighting to access end-of-life care that aligns with their values and priorities,” said Compassion Legal client Vickie George. “Like the lead plaintiff in this suit, I am a quadriplegic who depends on others for assistance 24/7 and I use a wheelchair. Unlike him, I do not consider my wheelchair use and quadriplegia to be a life-threatening disability, nor do I consider myself to have a terminal illness because of my quadriplegia. If and when I am ever faced with a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, I want medical aid in dying available to me as an end-of-life healthcare option. Nobody has the right to make decisions about what is an acceptable level of suffering for someone else.”
The opening brief in support of the motion to intervene is here.
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