Taking the Medication
Taking the medication is a relatively simple process. You can request one of our trained volunteers to be with you when you ingest the drugs. California’s End of Life Option Act (ELOA) has sections that address the following topics associated with taking the MAiD medication.
Where can you take the medication?
Can your living facility prevent you from taking the medication?
The law does permit hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, or residential hospice facilities to not allow MAiD ingestion on their premises if they have a publicly disclosed policy against it.
You are permitted to take the medication in:
- A private home or apartment.
- A hotel room or short-term rented home.
- Your room in a licensed residential facility such as assisted living or elder care.
Who can help you take the medication?
Anyone may be present when you take the medication and may prepare the medication for you. The only thing they may not do is to assist you in ingesting the medication. In other words, they can hand you the glass with the medication, but they cannot hold it to your lips.
If you are living in a residential facility, the facility may require its employees to not be present when you take the medication, but they cannot prevent you from requesting MAiD and taking the medication.
Are your helpers exposed to any legal risk?
The law is very clear that a person who is present or helps you take the medicine is not subject to “civil or criminal liability.”
