Your Rights
Medical Aid-in-Dying (MAiD) is your legal right under California’s End of Life Option Act (EOLOA). However, the law does not require every doctor and healthcare organization to provide MAiD upon request, even if you meet the criteria for receiving MAiD.
This section describes your rights under the EOLOA and what you can do if your doctor or healthcare provider is unwilling to fulfill your request for MAiD.
As a practical matter, it is important to learn early on whether your doctor and healthcare organization are willing to provide MAiD. If they are not, they cannot block you from ultimately receiving MAiD, but it will slow down the process by weeks or more, weeks that may be critical for you when the time comes.
End of Life Choices California (EOLCCA) strongly recommends that you ask your doctor early on what they would do if, at some time in the future, you requested MAiD. If they indicate they or their organization is unwilling, you may want to switch providers long before it becomes a critical issue.
Your Right to Request MAiD without Consequence
The law gives you the right to request MAiD from your doctor. They may not interpret your request as implying you need a guardian or a conservator. They must treat your request in compliance with the law, noting it in your medical records and either accepting it or enabling you to transfer to a different doctor.
Required Disclosure on Website
Every healthcare organization in California is required to disclose their current policy regarding MAiD on their website. So you should be able to find out whether or not the organization would be willing to fulfill your MAiD request.
If your healthcare organization has a policy prohibiting their doctors from prescribing MAiD, you have no alternative but to switch to an organization that is willing to do so. However, they must provide you with all your records and transfer your records to your new healthcare organization in a timely manner as soon as you request it.
Unwilling Doctor
Even if your healthcare organization does permit its doctors to fulfill MAiD requests, an individual doctor within that organization may choose not to prescribe MAiD medication.
Even if your doctor is unwilling to prescribe, they are required to document your request in your medical record before transferring the records to a new doctor. Contact EOLCCA if you need help finding a participating physician or hospice.
