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
SB 403 SIGNED INTO LAW!
We are thrilled to share that Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 403 into law, making California’s End of Life Option Act (EOLOA) permanent.
This landmark legislation, authored by Senator Catherine Blakespear, removes the sunset clause from California’s Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) law, ensuring that terminally ill, mentally capable adults will continue to have access to this compassionate option now and forever.
This is a tremendous victory for autonomy, dignity, and compassion at the end of life.
Together, we’ve ensured that Californians facing the end of life will always have clarity, choice, and control.
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.
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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