Author: FFP Ai Bot

OHIO — Fourteen U.S. jurisdictions now allow some terminally ill adults to get a prescription for medication they can take themselves to end their lives. Three of them, Delaware, New York and Illinois, joined in 2026. Ohio is not one of them.

Supporters call the practice medical aid in dying (MAID) or “death with dignity.” Critics, including the American Medical Association’s ethics code and many religious and disability-rights groups, call it physician-assisted suicide. This explainer uses “medical aid in dying,” the term in most of the state laws, and lays out what supporters and opponents say.

If you or someone you know is struggling or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

Where it is legal, and when it started

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia authorize medical aid in dying, with these start years:

• Oregon – 1997 (ballot measure; in effect Oct. 27, 1997)
• Washington – 2009 (voter-approved 2008; in effect March 5, 2009)
• Montana – 2009 (state Supreme Court ruling in Baxter v. Montana; no statute)
• Vermont – 2013 (in effect May 20, 2013)
• California – 2016 (in effect June 9, 2016)
• Colorado – 2016 (voter-approved; in effect Dec. 16, 2016)
• District of Columbia – 2017 (in effect Feb. 18, 2017)
• Hawaii – 2019 (in effect Jan. 1, 2019)
• New Jersey – 2019 (in effect Aug. 1, 2019)
• Maine – 2019 (in effect Sept. 19, 2019)
• New Mexico – 2021 (in effect June 18, 2021)
• Delaware – 2026 (in effect Jan. 1, 2026)
• New York – 2026 (in effect Aug. 5, 2026)
• Illinois – 2026 (in effect Sept. 12, 2026)

Montana is the exception. There, the practice rests on a 2009 state Supreme Court decision, Baxter v. Montana, not a statute. Because Montana has no law setting up a regulatory framework or reporting system, access there is not standardized, according to the U.S. MAiD Public Health Education Initiative. Montana lawmakers have repeatedly tried to outlaw the practice. In 2025, a Senate-passed bill to make it illegal failed in the House, according to the advocacy group Death with Dignity.

The newest laws are still being tested in court. In September, a federal judge in Chicago refused to block Illinois’ law. Disability-rights advocates had sued, arguing it would push disabled patients toward ending their lives. Capitol News Illinois reported that a similar challenge to New York’s law was dismissed in July. Catholic-affiliated health systems and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich have filed separate lawsuits over whether objecting providers must discuss the option with patients.

How the laws generally work

The details differ by state, but most laws follow Oregon’s model. In general:

• Adults only. The patient must be at least 18.
• Terminal illness. An attending physician and a consulting physician must confirm the patient has a terminal illness expected to cause death within six months. Some states, including Delaware, also allow advanced practice registered nurses to fill these roles.
• Mental capacity and free will. The patient must be able to make and communicate their own health care decisions and must be acting voluntarily. Laws generally say age, disability or depression alone does not qualify someone. New York requires a mental health evaluation for every patient. Many other states require one only when a doctor has concerns.
• Self-administration. The patient must take the medication themselves, by swallowing it. No doctor or family member may give it to them, which is the key legal difference from euthanasia.
• Repeated requests. Most states require two oral requests and a written request signed in front of witnesses. Some witnesses, such as people who stand to inherit, are typically barred.
• Waiting periods. These vary widely. New York requires five days between writing and filling the prescription. Delaware requires the written request at least 48 hours before the drugs can be dispensed. California cut its wait between oral requests from 15 days to 48 hours in 2022. Maine lets doctors waive up to 10 days of its 15-day wait. Oregon waives its waiting periods for patients expected to live less than 15 days.
• Residency. Most states limit the option to residents. Oregon and Vermont dropped their residency requirements in 2023.
• Opting out. Doctors, pharmacists and hospitals are not required to take part.

Patients can change their minds at any time, and many who get the medication never take it.

What Oregon’s 28 years of data show

Oregon has the longest track record. Its health authority published its 28th annual report in 2026. Among the findings for 2025:

• 637 people received prescriptions, up from 609 in 2024. As of Jan. 23, 2026, the state had confirmed 400 deaths from taking the medication in 2025, about 1% of all deaths in Oregon that year.
• Since 1998, 5,520 people have received prescriptions and 3,691 (67%) died after taking them.
• 88% of 2025 patients were 65 or older; the median age was 76. Cancer was the most common illness (61%), followed by neurological disease (14%) and heart disease (11%).
• 92% were enrolled in hospice, and 80% died at home.
• The most common end-of-life concerns patients reported were losing autonomy (89%), being less able to enjoy life’s activities (89%) and loss of dignity (65%). About 40% cited being a burden on family, friends or caregivers, 37% cited pain or worry about pain, and 6% cited the cost of treatment.
• 24 patients who died in 2025 (6%) had outlived their six-month prognosis. Two qualifying patients were referred for a psychological or psychiatric evaluation.
• 37 prescription recipients (6%) lived outside Oregon.

The case for

Supporters argue that mentally capable adults who are already dying should decide how much suffering they endure at the very end. They point out that the laws apply only to terminal illness, require multiple doctors and requests, and leave the final act to the patient.

They often cite Oregon’s numbers: most patients were in hospice, and the top concerns patients reported were loss of autonomy and dignity, not money. “We also advocate for access to high-quality hospice and palliative care, but we understand that not all suffering can be relieved and believe that only the dying individual can determine when the suffering is too great,” said Lisa Vigil-Schattinger, executive director of Ohio End of Life Options, when Ohio’s bill was introduced.

In refusing to block Illinois’ law, U.S. District Judge John Tharp wrote that, under that view, providing end-of-life care “promotes the duty to ‘do no harm’ rather than erases it because failing to alleviate pain and suffering would itself be a cause of harm.”

The case against

Medical ethics. The AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics states that physician-assisted suicide “is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.” The code urges doctors to focus on comfort care, pain control and not abandoning dying patients. It also acknowledges that “thoughtful, morally admirable individuals hold diverging” views, and says doctors who legally take part as a matter of conscience have not violated the code.

Religious objections. The Catholic Conference of Ohio opposes the practice. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati wrote this year that “authentic compassion never intentionally ends a human life,” calling instead for accompaniment, hospice and palliative care.

Disability rights. A coalition of national disability groups, including Not Dead Yet, ADAPT, the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and the National Council on Independent Living, has argued that the laws are dangerous. Their concerns: terminal prognoses are often wrong, patients can “doctor shop,” psychological evaluations usually are not required, and in a profit-driven system a lethal prescription becomes “the cheapest treatment available.” They also say heirs or abusive caregivers could steer vulnerable people toward it, and that the safeguards lack real enforcement.

Pressure and expansion. Critics point to Oregon’s own data, where about four in 10 patients cite being a burden on others and few are referred for mental health evaluation, as signs of quiet pressure. They also note that the rules have loosened over time: residency requirements were dropped in Oregon and Vermont, waiting periods were shortened or made waivable in California, Oregon and Maine, and Washington has let some nurse practitioners take on physician roles. Supporters see these changes as removing barriers to access. Opponents see a slippery slope.

Where Ohio stands

Medical aid in dying is illegal in Ohio. Under Ohio Revised Code 3795.04, knowingly causing another person to commit or attempt suicide, by providing the physical means or taking part in the physical act, is the crime of assisting suicide, a third-degree felony.

House Bill 835, the proposed Ohio Medical Aid in Dying Act, would change that. State Rep. Eric Synenberg, D-Beachwood, introduced it on April 27, 2026, with Reps. Crystal Lett, Tristan Rader and Anita Somani as co-sponsors. It would allow Ohio residents with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to request medication they take themselves. Patients would have to make two oral requests and a written request and could withdraw at any time. No doctor, hospital or hospice would be required to take part. The bill was referred to the House Health Committee on May 13 and, according to the Ohio House website, has not had further action. Death with Dignity called it the first such bill in Ohio since 2018.

Also pending are House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 134, backed by the Catholic Conference of Ohio. Among other things, they would bar state funding for assisted suicide, abortion and capital punishment.

Readers who want to weigh in can contact their state representative and state senator.

Help is available: If you or someone you know is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

#Ohio #MedicalAidInDying #EndOfLife

Sources

• Oregon Health Authority: Oregon Death with Dignity Act 2025 Data Summary (Year 28 report) – https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Documents/year28.pdf
• Oregon Health Authority: Report – Death with Dignity Act prescriptions continued rise in 2025 (April 2, 2026) – https://www.oregon.gov/oha/erd/pages/report-death-with-dignity-act-prescriptions-continued-rise-in-2025-04.02.2026.aspx
• Delaware Division of Public Health: End of Life Options – https://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/end-of-life-options/
• New York State Department of Health: Medical Aid in Dying Law Takes Effect (Aug. 5, 2026) – https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2026/2026-08-05_medical_aid_in_dying_law.htm
• Illinois Department of Public Health: Overview of the Illinois End-of-Life Options Act – https://dph.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idph/publications/idph/topics-and-services/provider-partner-resources/end-of-life-options-for-terminally-ill/eol-options-act-overview.pdf
• Office of Gov. JB Pritzker: Governor Pritzker Signs Bill Expanding End-of-Life Options – https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/governor-pritzker-signs-bill-expanding-end-of-life-options-for-terminally-ill-patients
• Capitol News Illinois via NPR Illinois: Judge declines to block Illinois’ ‘medical aid in dying’ law (Sept. 10, 2026) – https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2026-09-10/judge-declines-to-block-illinois-medical-aid-in-dying-law-ahead-of-sept-12-start
• Death with Dignity: State-by-state law histories (Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, New Mexico, Montana) – https://deathwithdignity.org/states/
• U.S. MAiD Public Health Education Initiative: Where MAiD Is Legal – https://www.usmaid.org/where-maid-is-legal
• Ohio Revised Code 3795.04: Assisting suicide – https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3795.04
• Ohio House: House Bill 835 (136th General Assembly) and status – https://www.ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb835/status
• Ohio House: Rep. Synenberg Introduces Medical Aid in Dying Legislation (April 23, 2026) – https://ohiohouse.gov/members/eric-synenberg/news/rep-synenberg-introduces-medical-aid-in-dying-legislation-143581
• Catholic Conference of Ohio: Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide – https://www.ohiocathconf.org/issues/category/euthanasia-assisted-suicide
• Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Accompanying Those Who Suffer – https://resources.catholicaoc.org/respect-life-blog/accompanying-those-who-suffer
• AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 5.7: Physician-Assisted Suicide – https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/physician-assisted-suicide
• Not Dead Yet: Disability Rights Organizations Issue Statement Opposing Assisted Suicide Laws (Feb. 13, 2017) – https://notdeadyet.org/disability-rights-organizations-issue-statement-opposing-assisted-suicide-laws-and-supporting-health-care/
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – https://988lifeline.org/