Governor David Ige
April 5, 2018: Governor David Ige signed the state’s “Our Care, Our Choice” bill into law today, making Hawaii the nation’s eighth jurisdiction to legalize medical aid in dying. (The others are California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia.) When the governor signed the bill, he said “It is time for terminally ill, mentally competent Hawaii residents who are suffering to make their own end-of-life choices with dignity, grace and peace.”
The new law, which is modeled after Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, becomes effective on January 1, 2019. It allows qualified patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and fewer than six months to live to obtain a prescription for medication that would end their lives.
Other states are actively considering similar bills. Good progress is being made in New Jersey, which may be the next state to enact such a law. In New York, the NYS League of Women Voters has supported the principles underlying the bill and the New York State Medical Society is asking members for their opinion.