Here are the states where assisted suicide legislation is gaining ground in 2025

 

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 26, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Assisted suicide legislation has been introduced in several states this year, with some bills gaining traction in efforts to legalize the practice and expand its availability.

According to Tim Millea, chairman of the board of the Catholic Medical Association, the three “most worrisome” states where legislation has been introduced are Illinois, Maryland, and Delaware. Elsewhere, in Washington, Oregon, and Vermont, state legislators are seeking to expand access.

Currently, 10 states — California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — along with the District of Columbia have MAID laws that allow physician-assisted suicide.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns euthanasia as “morally unacceptable” (No. 2277). Pope Francis reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s condemnation of the practice in a message to an interfaith symposium on palliative care in May 2024: “I would point out that authentic palliative care is radically different from euthanasia, which is never a source of hope or genuine concern for the sick and dying.”

Illinois

If Illinois passes the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, it will become the first state in the Midwest to legalize assisted suicide. The bill, which had its hearing last Friday, must go through several committee hearings and be passed by a vote in both chambers before the governor may sign it into law.

The bill would allow “a qualified patient with a terminal disease to request that a physician prescribe aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to end the patient’s life in a peaceful manner.”

Maryland

Maryland legislators have once again introduced legislation to legalize assisted suicide this month.

The amendment, titled The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings and the Honorable Shane E. Pendergrass End-of-Life Option Act, was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 4 and in the House on Feb. 7. The companion bills are currently undergoing committee hearings in both chambers.

Legislators tried to pass a bill legalizing “medical aid in dying (MAID)” in 2024 but were ultimately unsuccessful. Local reports from a year ago quoted Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, telling reporters that he would sign the bill if it made it to his desk. Lawmakers in the state have been attempting to pass assisted suicide legislation since 1996.

Delaware

Similarly, lawmakers in Delaware have also reintroduced legislation on assisted suicide that failed to pass last year. The 2025 version of the bill is nearly identical to its predecessor except for an added definition of the term “physician.” The bill stipulates that only a “licensed” physician may prescribe the death-inducing drugs used to facilitate assisted suicide.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, stated shortly after his swearing in last month that he would have signed the assisted suicide bill into law that his predecessor, Gov. John Carney, vetoed in September. “There was a bill that went through the state House and state Senate last year that I do support,” he said, according to a local news report.

Oregon

In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize assisted suicide through its Death With Dignity Act — though it did not go into effect until 1997 due to legal challenges. This year, the Oregon Legislature is attempting to pass a bill that would amend the law to extend authorization to physician assistants and nurse practitioners to prescribe lethal drugs to facilitate assisted suicide. Current law allows only licensed physicians the ability to prescribe them.

Oregon Right to Life condemned the bill in a news release last week, saying it would “expand access to legal assisted suicide, which has already skyrocketed in recent years as a cause of death for Oregonians and out-of-state residents.”

“This bill is dangerous and must be stopped,” stated Oregon Right to Life executive director Lois Anderson in the release. “If passed, it will usher in death on demand available to anyone whether they live in Oregon or not.”

Vermont

The Vermont Legislature is also considering whether to expand authorization for those who may prescribe lethal drugs to facilitate assisted suicide after a bill was introduced on Jan. 23.

The amendment proposes allowing naturopathic physicians as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants to “participate in the process established in Vermont’s patent choice at end-of-life laws.”

It is currently under consideration by the House Health Care Committee. If passed, the bill would amend the state’s existing Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act that has been in place since 2013.

Washington

On Feb. 7, Democratic representatives in Washington introduced legislation that would amend the state’s Death With Dignity Act, streamlining the process for terminally ill patients to obtain lethal drugs.

Under current law, which has been in place since 2009, terminally ill patients are required to make two separate requests for lethal drugs to have an assisted suicide, with a seven-day waiting period in between.

The new bill proposes eliminating the seven-day waiting period for patients who are either not expected to live for seven days, not expected to have the ability to self-administer the drugs after seven days, or in instances where the patient is experiencing “irremediable pain or suffering” related to their terminal illness.

No new assisted suicide laws since 2021

Jessica Rodgers, a representative for Patients Rights Action Fund, an advocacy organization dedicated to fighting to end assisted suicide laws, doesn’t see a groundswell in support for new assisted suicide legislation.

Rodgers noted that “no new state has enacted an assisted suicide law since 2021.”

“While assisted suicide legislation is among the thousands of proposed bills across the states, it’s not a popular bill for legislators. In fact, no new state has enacted an assisted suicide law since 2021,” she said.

“The diverse coalitions that oppose assisted suicide bring together people of all political persuasions and cuts across blue and red lines. The more we see out of states like Oregon and Colorado, the less other states want to legalize this dangerous practice,” Rodgers said.