Colorado’s End-of-life Options Act

In 2016, Colorado became the 6^th state to legalize the prescription of aid-in-dying medication after voters passed Proposition 106. This proposition created the End-of-life Options Act, which went into effect in December 2016. The Colorado legislature passed an improvement bill in 2024 that updated the Act to improve medication access across the state.

The End-of-Life Options Act allows terminally ill Coloradans to request and self-administer medication to end their lives peacefully and voluntarily. Patients must meet certain eligibility requirements to be prescribed aid-in-dying medication, including being at least 18 years old, having a prognosis of six or less months to live, and being declared mentally fit to make healthcare decisions.

To obtain the medication, patients must make two spoken requests and submit a “Request for medication to end my life in a peaceful manner” form to their healthcare provider. The provider then submits two forms to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to ensure that the medication was prescribed and dispensed in compliance with Colorado law. More details about the process are available from CDPHE’s Vital Statistics program.

CDPHE publishes an annual data summary to provide transparency about the number of prescriptions issued and compile information about the characteristics of people who request aid-in-dying medication. In 2024, 510 people received prescriptions for aid-in-dying medication, about a quarter more than the year before. Medication was actually dispensed to 313 of those who received prescriptions. People who received prescriptions were mostly older adults (the median age was 75). More than half (58%) had terminal cancer diagnoses, while other diagnoses included progressive neurological disease, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions. Since 2017, nearly 2,000 Coloradans have been prescribed aid-in-dying medication, giving them control over their final days and expanding end-of-life options for everyone in the state.