Beginning June 9, 2016, California’s new right to die law will take effect which will make it the largest state to adopt legislation of that type. As with all new laws, there are still many questions about how it will work and who is eligible. First, anyone seeking to exercise their right to die must be aged 18 or older, have a terminal illness that will reasonable produce death within 6 months, be a California resident, and have the mental capacity to make health care decisions. In addition, two doctors, one an attending and the other consulting, must agree on the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. In order to start the process three different request, two oral and a a written, must be made with 15 days elapsing between oral request. Finally, one last document must be signed before ingesting the drug which provides full notice to the patient of what is about to happen. Many other states, and countries for that matter, will be closely watching how the California system works in practice as they consider similar legislation.
See Lisa M. Kreiger & Jessica Calefati, California’s new End of Life law to take effect June 9: Questions and answers, San Jose Mercury News, March 14, 2016.
