Colorado passed a medical aid in dying measure Tuesday that will allow adults suffering from terminal illness to take life-ending, doctor-prescribed sleeping medication.
The ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly, by a two-thirds, one-third split, according to unofficial returns. Supporters claimed victory an hour after polls closed in Colorado.
“Today is bittersweet for our family,” said Melissa Hollis Brenkert, who watched her sister die painfully from a brain tumor. “Passage of Prop 106 means that Coloradans will now have options when facing pain and suffering at the end of their lives.”
Opponents, though, vowed to keep fighting to protect the elderly and people with disabilities, who they said are the law’s targets. “We are deeply disappointed and concerned about Colorado legalizing doctor-assisted suicide,” said Jeff Hunt, vice president of public policy for Colorado Christian University. “The fight is not over.”
Proposition 106, the “End of Life Options” measure, models Oregon’s “Death with Dignity” law, passed 22 years ago. With 87 percent of votes counted, the initiative had 1,508,202 votes, or 64.5 percent, compared with 827,676 or 35.4 percent, against.
Two physicians would have to agree the person is mentally competent and has fewer than six months to live, and the person choosing to die would have to self-administer the dosage of secobarbital, historically used in low doses as a sleeping pill. People with dementia or Alzheimer’s would not be eligible for the prescription.
“My dad wanted this option for peace of mind in his dying days and, ultimately, for the opportunity of a gentle passing,” said Julie Selsberg, who worked on the campaign. “Now we know that Coloradans believe that offering the option of medical aid in dying is the kind, compassionate, safe and just thing to do.”
The measure was among the most emotionally charged initiatives on the state ballot. Colorado would join four other states that have followed Oregon with similar laws or court action — Washington, Vermont, Montana and California.
The “Yes on Colorado End-of-Life Options” campaign has raised $4.8 million, including from Compassion & Choices Action Network. The face of the campaign was Brittany Maynard, who chose to die under Oregon’s law in 2014 instead of letting an aggressive brain tumor continue to “torture her to death.” Her husband, Dan Diaz, has spent the last two years talking to lawmakers and working with Compassion & Choices to change law in other states. He and Brittany had to move to Oregon from California so she could die peacefully, he said.
Opponents said the proposal lacks safeguards — it does not require that a doctor is present at time of death, does not prevent “doctor shopping,” and does not prevent an heir from plotting the death of a relative to gain inheritance. The Archdiocese of Denver donated $1.1 million to the “No Assisted Suicide Campaign,” and said “human life is sacred at every stage and should be protected.”
Some advocates for the disabled community also were opposed, saying such a law could lead insurance companies to determine it is more cost-effective to provide medical aid in dying than lifelong medical care.
Even the language used on campaign signs and in television ads this fall has been controversial. People in favor of the initiative use the terms “dying with dignity” and “right to die,” but named their Colorado ballot measure the more neutral “end-of-life options. Opponents of the proposed law call it “physician-assisted suicide.”
The Secretary of State’s Office listed the measure as “medical aid in dying,” which is the term physicians are likely to use.
