Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act
Medical aid in dying is the practice in which a terminally ill, mentally competent adult patient voluntarily requests and receives a prescription medication from a physician that they can self-administer to die peacefully. This allows patients to end their lives on their own terms. Medical aid in dying is authorized in 11 jurisdictions with regulations varying by jurisdiction to ensure that the process is carried out ethically and safely.
Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act authorizes the practice of medical aid in dying, was voted into law in 2016 and went into effect in December 2016. In 2024, Colorado lawmakers passed an improvement bill, aiming to make the law more accessible across the state. The information in this packet is reflective of those approved updates to the Colorado End-of-Life Options Act, which is in effect as of August 7, 2024. These include:
- Reducing the mandatory minimum waiting period between oral requests from 15 days to seven days
- Allowing qualified advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with prescriptive authority to act as attending and consulting providers
- Allowing the prescribing provider to waive the waiting period if the patient is not likely to survive more than 48 hours and meets all other qualifications
Eligibility
To be eligible to use the law, the individual must:
- Be 18 years or older
- Have been diagnosed with a terminal illness
- Have a prognosis of six months or less to live
- Be mentally capable of making their own healthcare decisions
The patient must also be:
- A resident of Colorado
- Capable of self-ingesting the aid-in-dying medication
- Making an informed decision and voluntary request
