A patient, a physician, and a licensed professional counselor specializing in eating disorders joined Compassion & Choices Action Network  Tuesday in filing a motion to intervene and oppose a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Colorado’s End of Life Options Act. The proposed intervenors are represented  by Compassion Legal: The End-of-Life Justice Center at Compassion & Choices and O’Melveny & Myers, LLP. 

The proposed intervenors are:

• Charlie Baratta, who has terminal prostate cancer with metastasized neuroendocrine tumors and who fears the option of medical aid in dying will not be available if or when he needs it as a result of this lawsuit; 
• Kerry Broderick, M.D., an emergency-medicine physician who has acted as a consulting provider to patients seeking medical aid in dying, and who wants to ensure qualified terminally-ill patients have the full-range of end-of-life options; 
• Kelly Kee, M.A., L.P.C., a Colorado-licensed professional counselor who specializes in the treatment of individuals with eating disorders, who is personally in recovery from an eating disorder, and who does not believe anorexia qualifies as an irreversible and incurable disease under Colorado’s Act; and 
• Compassion & Choices Action Network, which advocates and lobbies for laws that protect and expand end-of-life options. C&C Action Network seeks to intervene in this case because it sponsored the End-of-Life Options Act, the statute being challenged in this litigation.

In filing their request, the proposed intervenors are taking a stand to protect the rights and dignity of Coloradans facing terminal illness. They are fighting to ensure the End of Life Options Act, approved by voters to give qualified individuals the freedom to make personal, compassionate choices at the end of life, remains firmly in place.

The plaintiffs’ claim that medical aid in dying is discriminatory is not only unfounded, it undermines the very principles of equality and autonomy. The proposed intervenors reject that argument outright. Colorado’s law contains some of the strongest safeguards in the nation, ensuring that only terminally ill, mentally capable adults who voluntarily seek this option are able to access it.

This law is not about discrimination, it is about compassion, dignity, and respecting the choices of Coloradans when it matters most.

“I am so thankful that my brother, Andrew Flack, had the option of medical aid in dying when the pain from his terminal colon cancer became unbearable,” said Kelly Kee, a proposed intervenor in Littleton. “Taking away the option from qualified terminally ill people would not improve care, it would only limit the autonomy of dying people who deserve the full-range of options at the end of life.”

“Medical aid in dying is a compassionate end-of-life option with numerous procedural requirements and safeguards for people who are already in the process of dying,” said John Kappos, co-counsel on case and partner at O’Melveny and Myers, LLP. “It does not remove any support services for individuals, but rather adds one more end-of-life option for those who qualify.” 

“This lawsuit is part of a broader effort to dismantle medical aid in dying across the country—but so far, similar challenges have failed because the plaintiffs could not show they are actually harmed by aid-in-dying laws,” said Jess Pezley, Senior Staff Attorney for Compassion Legal.  “They are not harmed because the law is completely voluntary for patients and physicians alike, and has numerous safeguards to ensure that voluntariness.”

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, making it one of the most popular ballot measures in state history, with the support of over 1.7 million Coloradans. 

79% of voters nationwide with disabilities support medical aid in dying, which is authorized in 11  states and Washington, D.C.

For more information and frequently asked questions about medical aid in dying, visit: compassionandchoices.org/resource/frequently-asked-questions

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