In 2014 when Brittany Maynard partnered with Compassion & Choices and shared her story, it catapulted the end-of-life care options movement into the national limelight.
Since then, the movement has enjoyed unprecedented progress authorizing four new jurisdictions in just three years — California in 2015, Colorado in 2016, Washington, D.C., in 2017 and Hawai‘i in 2018. Our momentum is self-evident. In contrast, it took 19 years between the first four victories — Oregon in 1994, Washington in 2008, Montana in 2009 and Vermont in 2013.
During 2017 and 2018 more than 125 lawmakers across 28 states sponsored legislation to authorize medical aid in dying as an option for mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to peacefully end their suffering if it becomes unbearable. The 2018 election cycle marked the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on the actions of these bill sponsors. And the voters spoke clearly. The vast majority of the legislators who served as primary bill sponsors for medical aid in dying who sought re-election were re-elected. With widespread public support for end-of-life autonomy (see page 6), more state legislators will respond to the preferences of their constituents and cast their support for this compassionate end-of-life care option.
