Is California Ready for Physician-Aided Suicide?

May 20, 2016

(Medical Xpress) – As California nears implementation of a new law that will let terminally ill patients end their lives by taking a physician-prescribed lethal dose of medication, a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that health organizations, health care providers and the public have a critical gap in understanding how the law will work. Though the End of Life Option Act, which applies only to people who are terminally ill and have fewer than six months to live, takes effect June 9, the study released today indicates that California health organizations lack vital information about aid in dying (AID) that could help doctors effectively and comfortably implement the new law. Families also lack information on end-of-life care or how to help loved ones who are considering end of life options.