Important note: The Department of Health is responsible for ensuring health care providers comply with the Death with Dignity Act and for reporting out summary information in annual reports. The Department of Health is not authorized or able to assist a potential participant with accessing care or removing the requirements of the Act. Talk with your health care provider or contact an end-of-life resource about pursuing Death with Dignity.
This act allows terminally ill adults seeking to end their life to request lethal doses of medication from medical and osteopathic physicians. These terminally ill patients must be Washington residents who have less than six months to live. In addition to the strict eligibility criteria these laws establish the following core safeguards:. These core safeguards ensure that individual patient preferences, needs and values are honored, and guide all clinical decisions, including the decision to use medical aid in dying.
See the State End-of-Life Information Packets see Resources section below for a booklet about medical aid in dying for your authorized state.
Please consult with your doctor and medical team about end-of-life care and options, including medical aid in dying. This video is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon for medical or legal advice. Society benefits when medical aid in dying laws are implemented — benefits that help everybody — regardless of whether one decides to access the law:.
Support is high across all demographic groups surveyed. Read more about support for medical aid in dying in the latest polls. Source: Gallup Poll, State-specific booklets that provide step-by-step instructions for how to use the law, how to find a physician and what to consider when talking with your physician.
It allows California residents who are at least 18 years old and have a terminal illness with life expectancy of 6 months or less to request a medication that will hasten their death. This practice is also known as "death with dignity" or "physician doctor aid in dying. Euthanasia is not legal in the U. People who wish to exercise this aid in dying option must maintain their decision-making capacity and must independently make this request to a physician.
They also must be able to ingest the medication on their own. Under this law, physician aid in dying AID is not considered suicide. Participation in this end-of-life option is voluntary for patients, doctors and staff. Your physician is dedicated to making sure that your treatment matches your goals. When it has become clear that you are in the final months of life, there are several options to consider.
Pain and discomfort can, in most cases, be managed by a palliative care team, or hospice care can bring services into your home that enhance comfort and quality of life.
Only the individual can decide if and when their own quality of life has become so poor that physician aid in dying seems to be the best option to end one's own life in a humane and dignified manner. When you're ready, you should begin with a frank discussion with the physicians who knows you best. Physicians who do not participate in the AID program are not obligated by law to act on your request.
If your physician does not prescribe the aid-in-dying drug, you can ask members of your medical team to connect you with an AID coordinator who give you more information. No member of our medical team is obligated by law to participate, so only medical professionals and staff who are voluntarily participating will assist you.
Once you make a request for the aid-in-dying drug, your physician or other health care provider will refer you to an AID coordinator — a specially trained social worker — for a collaborative consultation. The AID coordinator will help you understand what you need to do to obtain the aid-in-dying medication. The coordinator will also ensure that all the appropriate requests, notes and paperwork are completed and filed in your medical record prior to drug prescription. AID coordinators want to make this process as easy as possible for you.
If you choose to include your family, the coordinator will also support them. You are invited to include one or more of your family members, a caregiver, or a close friend in the process. The law also permits physicians and other members of the health care team to decline to participate. An attending physician will see you twice at least 15 days apart and verify that you continue to meet the aid-in-dying requirements under the law.
You must make a verbal request at each visit that you want the life-ending drug.
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