United States — Medical Aid in Dying by State

Common Requirements Across All States

• Must be a resident of the state
• Must be 18 years of age or older
• Must have a terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months or less to live
• Must be mentally competent (able to make and communicate health care decisions)
• Must make two oral requests, separated by a waiting period, plus one written request
• Two physicians must confirm the diagnosis, prognosis, and mental competence
• Patient self-administers the medication — physicians do not administer it

States Where It Is Not Legal

39 states plus U.S. territories do not have physician-assisted dying laws. Some states have explicit criminal statutes prohibiting it. Legislation has been proposed but failed in many states including New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and others.

Check your state legislature's current session for pending bills, as the legal landscape continues to evolve.

National Resources

• Death with Dignity National Center — deathwithdignity.org
• Compassion & Choices — compassionandchoices.org
• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine — aahpm.org

Legal Contacts

• Compassion & Choices — The largest US end-of-life rights nonprofit; provides legal information, patient advocacy, and physician referrals for all states with active laws. compassionandchoices.org
• Death with Dignity National Center — The organisation that led the Oregon campaign; now provides legislative tracking, advocacy, and educational resources across all US jurisdictions. deathwithdignity.org
• State Health Departments — Each state's health department publishes annual reports and official eligibility information. See the individual state pages in this directory for direct links.

Medical Contacts

• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) — Professional organisation for palliative care physicians; publishes position statements on MAID and maintains resources for clinicians participating in or evaluating MAID requests. aahpm.org
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) — Provides a national directory of hospice and palliative care providers for patients seeking comfort-focused care. nhpco.org
• Your Primary Care Physician — In all US states, your attending physician is the entry point for a MAID request. Compassion & Choices can help locate a willing physician if your own doctor declines.

Important: Contact details and eligibility requirements change. Always verify information directly with each organisation before taking any action.