Broadening California's End of Life Option Act (EOLOA)
OUR MISSION
To broaden California’s End of Life Option Act to include individuals suffering from progressive, incurable diseases that are not currently covered under the law, thereby giving them the right to choose a legal and peaceful death with Medical Aid in Dying.
Legislative Efforts & Educating Californians
MEET SENATE BILL 403!
Senator Catherine Blakespear recently introduced Senate Bill 403 (SB 403), which will seek to eliminate the January 1st, 2031 sunset clause from California’s End of Life Option Act (EOLOA) for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). A sunset clause is a legislative provision that automatically makes a law expire on a specified date, unless the sunset date is extended. A sunset clause was included in our EOLOA as a safeguard to ensure that no abuses were discovered in the use of MAID. Since California’s law first took effect in June of 2016, extensive data have been collected and reported annually on the utilization of MAID with zero concerns identified. Without SB 403, California’s law allowing MAID will expire on January 1st, 2031, so it is important that we support SB 403.
WE’RE NOT DONE
While eliminating the sunset clause has long been something A Better Exit has desired, we had hoped that this year’s bill would address our primary goals:
(1) To allow those with progressive neurodegenerative diseases (early to mid-stage dementia, ALS, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and other lesser-known progressive neurodegenerative diseases) access to MAID before they lose their mental or physical capacity to make this choice.
(2) To allow all patients utilizing MAID an IV option in addition to the ingested option, which is currently the only method allowable, with both methods continuing to be self-administered.
Because this type of legislation is so controversial, the changes we desire will need to be made incrementally. SB 403 will be a start, but we are committed to continuing to work towards achieving our major goals in future legislative sessions.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
We need letters of support for SB 403! The Senate Health Committee will be voting on this bill on Wednesday, April 23rd, so we need your letters submitted soon. You are certainly welcome to create your own letter of support or to make the process easier, we have created a SUPPORT LETTER TEMPLATE (Word document) that you can personalize.
Completed letters of support can be submitted through the legislative portal by clicking on the button below. Letters submitted through the portal will be routed to each new committee where the bill might next be voted on.
Steps to submit your support letter:
- Download “template support letter” from above. Edit with personal information and Save it as a pdf file.
- Click on Submit Support Letter button below.
- In the Sign In box on the website, click on “Create an Account” (if you don’t already have one)
- Once you have an account, sign in and click Submit a Letter.
- Select Measure Type “SB” in the drop down menu. Enter 403 in text box. Leave Session Type as Regular. Click Search - SB 403 should appear.
- Click Next. Submit a Letter. Click Select File.
- Click Support option, Enter “SB 403 Support Letter” in Subject area. Choose File to upload your pdf Support Letter. Click Review and then Submit.
Another option is for you to send your support letter to us in a pdf format at contact@abetterexit.org and we will submit it for you.
SPREADING THE WORD
A recent report based on research done by End of Life Choices California found that only 25% of Californians are aware that we have a law allowing medical aid in dying (MAID). We also know that even fewer are aware of the specifics of the law. So, A Better Exit has turned much of our attention to arranging talks in person or via Zoom to spread the word about MAID— what it involves, who can and cannot access MAID under the current law, and the ways we would like to see our End of Life Option Act modified to allow more suffering Californians the option to choose a peaceful death. If you know of organizations or retirement communities that might be interested in a presentation or have a connection to a media outlet that might be willing to work with us to publicize our effort, please email us at contact@abetterexit.org.
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