Medical Aid in Dying:
An Option for Freedom and Compassion
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Medical aid in dying offers terminally ill people the option of deciding to die peacefully in their sleep. Learn More.
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Medical aid in dying is part of person-directed end-of-life care, along with hospice and palliative care.Learn more.
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A person must be assessed by two medical professional as terminally ill, able to make health care decisions for themselves, able to self administer the aid-in-dying medications, and acting of their own free will. Learn more.
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And, please scroll down!
Medical Aid in Dying: What it Is, and Why Now
Safeguards
With more than 20 years of evidence from Oregon alone and another 77 years of combined evidence in the other authorized jurisdictions in the U.S., the laws that authorize this compassionate option have proven not only to protect patients, but to improve care across the end-of-life spectrum.
The fundamental core safeguards embedded in medical aid-in-dying laws ensure that all terminally ill individuals pursuing the option are protected from coercion and abuse.
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Medical aid in dying (MAiD) is a trusted and time-tested medical practice that allows a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request from their health care provider a prescription for medication they can decide to self-ingest to die peacefully in their sleep.
MAiD is practiced in 10 states plus the District of Columbia. It was adopted first in Oregon in 1997. It has been available to Vermont residents since 2013 and in Maine since 2019.
Why Now?
Because more people are asking for the option. Many New Hampshire residents get medical care in Vermont and Maine, where medical aid in dying is legal. Vermont has dropped its residency requirement for MAiD patients. We applaud this, but why should a NH person - or anyone for that matter - have to travel to another state to die?
What will it take bring this option to New Hampshire? Read on . . .