Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Colorado Overwhelmingly Passes Aid-In-Dying Measure
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. (Brown, 11/8)
Proposition 106 requires that a mentally competent patient have a six-month prognosis and get two doctors to approve requests for life-ending medication. It requires doctors to discuss alternatives with the patient as well as safe storage, tracking and disposal of lethal drugs, recognizing that a patient can change his or her mind. (Anderson, 11/18)
Advocates for physician-assisted suicide had focused their efforts on getting a ballot measure passed, after the issue failed to gain traction in the Colorado legislature last year and again this year. The national group Compassion and Choices was the effort's chief funder, spending several million dollars in support of the measure. Five other states already allow doctor-assisted suicide: California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont. (Cunningham, 11/8)
