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Death with
Dignity Acts
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Death with dignity laws, also known as

physician-assisted dying or aid-in-dying
laws, stem from the basic idea that it is the
terminally ill people, not government and
its interference, politicians and their
ideology, or religious leaders and their
dogma, who should make their end-of-life
decisions and determine how much pain
and suffering they should endure.

Death with dignity statutes allow mentally

competent adult state residents who have a
terminal illness with a confirmed prognosis
of having 6 or fewer months to live to
voluntarily request and receive a
prescription medication to hasten their
inevitable, imminent death. By adding a
voluntary option to the continuum of end-
of-life care, these laws give patients dignity,
control, and peace of mind during their final
days with family and loved ones. The
protections in the statutes ensure that
patients remain the driving force in end-of-
life care discussions.

Existing physician-assisted dying laws

mirror Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act,
which is widely acclaimed as successful and
which independent studies prove has
safeguards to protect patients and prevents
misuse.

The death with dignity process is robust:

Two physicians must confirm the patient’s
residency, diagnosis, prognosis, mental
competence, and voluntariness of the
request. Two waiting periods, the first
between the oral requests, the second
between receiving and filling the
prescription, are required.

LEARN HOW TO ACCESS DEATH

WITH DIGNITY LAWS ›

Current Death with

Dignity Laws
The following U.S. jurisdictions have death
with dignity statutes:

California (End of Life Option Act;

approved in 2015, in effect from
2016)
Colorado (End of Life Options Act;
2016)
District of Columbia (D.C. Death with
Dignity Act; 2016/2017)
Hawaii (Our Care, Our Choice Act;
2018/2019)
Maine (Death with Dignity Act; 2019)
New Jersey (Aid in Dying for the
Terminally Ill Act; 2019)
New Mexico (Elizabeth Whitefield End
of Life Options Act; 2021)
Oregon (Death with Dignity Act;
1994/1997)
Vermont (Patient Choice and Control at
the End of Life Act; 2013)
Washington (Death with Dignity Act;
2008)

Visit our State Statute Navigator where you

can not only research every currently
enacted law, but also download a complete
manual of the laws and our model language
recommendation for new bills. Easily access
state data reports using our State Report
Navigator.

Montana does not currently have a statute

safeguarding physician-assisted death. In
2009, Montana’s Supreme Court ruled
nothing in the state law prohibited a
physician from honoring a terminally ill,
mentally competent patient’s request by
prescribing medication to hasten the
patient’s death. Since the ruling, several
bills have been introduced to codify or ban
the practice, none of which have passed.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DEATH WITH

DIGNITY IN YOUR STATE ›

How to Table an Event

How to Organize a Film Screening Event
How to Meet with Your State Legislators to
Advocate for Death with Dignity
How to Testify at a Public Legislative
Hearing
How to Write an Op-Ed
How to Write a Letter to the Editor
Books About Death with Dignity
Advance Care Planning for Alzheimer's
Disease or Dementia
Alternative Options to Hasten Death
Death with Dignity in California: A History
Chronology of Assisted Dying in the U.S.
Glossary of Terms
Oregon Death with Dignity Act: A History
Frequently Asked Questions
Death with Dignity Acts
How Death with Dignity Laws Work
End-of-Life Resources for Patients and
Families
For Advocates
For Healthcare Providers
Religion and Spirituality
For Researchers
Death and Dying

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