NH End of Life Options Act
Bill Summary
Seeking citizens to comment and support.
The bill is filed for the legislative session that starts in January 2024.
The Act has bipartisan support.
The NH End of Life Options Act serves mentally capable adults age 18 and over:
who are suffering with a terminal condition;
whose prognosis is death within six months;
who can self-administer the medication.
The dying person may request a prescription for assistance-in-dying medications from a health care provider.
The health care provider must be a NH-licensed medication prescriber: a physician; an osteopath; an advanced practice registered nurse; or a physician assistant.
12. Medical aid in dying is practiced in 10 states (ME, VT, CO, NM, HI, MS, NJ, OR, WA, CA) and Washington, D.C., starting with Oregon in 1997.
13. We are seeking #1-in-Freedom- and-Compassion-NH to become the 11th state to allow its dying citizens the freedom to make their own decisions to die as they prefer: peacefully and painlessly.
14. The bill will be in introduced in the NH House. It will be assigned to a committee before going with a yes or no recommendation to the full House. If it passes, it goes on to the Senate. If it passes, it goes to the governor for signature. All this would happen between January and June 2024.
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7. Any health care provider or institution is free to decline to assist for any reason, and will be held harmless for declining.
8. The dying person would then consult a second health care provider to confirm their qualifications under the Act.
9. After two health care providers independently verify the person qualifies under the Act, the first provider may legally prescribe the appropriate medications.
10. The dying person may then legally self-administer this medication to end their suffering and die peacefully in their sleep.
11. A person enrolled in Medicare-certified hospice meets the Act’s six-month prognosis requirement. Such a person would need one consultation to affirm their ability to make health care decisions for themselves, and their ability to self-administer the medication.