End of Life Options Act - How It Works and How We Can Help

From first hand experience I can attest to the merits of the End of Life Options Act aka Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). It is a workable process to exercise your end of life right should you choose to.  You don’t have to agree with it, you don’t have to ever consider exercising it but for those that do the Act has processes and procedures that guard against misuse and abuse.

In 2016, Colorado voters passed Proposition 106, the End of Life Options Act. This Act allows individuals with a terminal illness and a prognosis of less than six months to live, confirmed by the individual’s primary physician and confirmed by a second consulting physician, the option of ending their life with prescribed medication. The individual must be determined to be mentally capable by both physicians.

To comply with the requirements one must be motivated to do so. Accomplishing the steps is time consuming and cannot be done quickly. It’s important to plan ahead if you are considering ending your life to ensure scheduling the appointments, meeting with the doctors, obtaining the required physicians approvals are accomplished ahead of your health deteriorating to the point that you cannot carry out your wishes.

The only legal means to ending your life in Colorado is by mixing the contents of the lethal medication capsules into a paste and drinking the mixture.  You must be able to drink and swallow. You will have to be cognizant to carry this out.  Disease progression is difficult to predict and your initial prognosis is not assured.

It is not unusual for individuals to complete the steps, obtain the medication and never use it. Most often taking the lethal dose is put off and then it simply becomes too late for the individual to self-administer the medication. Other times a person changes their mind and decides to let the disease run its course.

The decision to obtain and administer the medication to end your life is not taken lightly. But in Colorado it is a right that was hard fought.

If you have questions about the End of Life Options Act or the specifics of the required procedures, feel free to contact our office. We are always available to assist with your life planning needs.

Law Offices of Bradley J. Frigon, LLC

6500 S. Quebec Street, Suite 330

Englewood, CO 80111

720-200-4025