In 2019, the Maine legislature passed a death with dignity bill called the Death With Dignity Act. Governor Janet Mills signed the bill into law June 12, 2019. The law allows terminally ill patients to request aid in dying in certain clearly defined situations.
In 2022, 58 people received a prescription under the act, and 40 used it to die. (For additional statistics, see the Patient-Directed Care 2022 Annual Report published by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.)
This article first clarifies some confusing language related to death with dignity laws and then sets out the basics of Maine's law.
"Death with dignity" is one of the most commonly accepted phrases describing the process by which a terminally ill person ingests prescribed medication to hasten death. Many people still think of this process as "assisted suicide" or "physician assisted suicide."
However, proponents of death with dignity argue that the term "suicide" doesn't apply to terminally ill people who would prefer to live but, facing certain death within months, choose a gentler way of dying. In fact, Maine's law states that terminating one's life under the law is not suicide. (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 2140(20) (2024).)
Increasingly, health organizations are turning away from the term "suicide" to describe a terminally ill patient's choice to reduce the suffering of an inevitable death. The phrase "aid in dying" is becoming a more accepted way to refer to this process.
You might also see the phrase "right to die" used in place of "death with dignity." However, "right to die" is more accurately used in the context of directing one's own medical care—that is, refusing life-sustaining treatment such as a respirator or feeding tubes when permanently unconscious or close to death. You can provide your own health care directions by completing a Maine advance health care directive. (See the end of this article for more information.)
Both doctors and patients must comply with certain legal requirements for a patient to receive a prescription for aid-in-dying medication.
To request a prescription for life-ending medication in Maine, a patient must be:
(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(2), 2140(4), 2140(15) (2024).)
A patient who meets the requirements above will be prescribed aid-in-dying medication only if:
(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(5), 2140(11), 2140(13), 2140(24) (2024).)
Maine law limits who can be the two witnesses for the patient's request for aid-in-dying medication. The patient's attending physician can't be a witness. Also, one of the two witnesses can't be:
(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 2140(5) (2024).)
A doctor may prescribe aid-in-dying medication to an eligible patient only if:
(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(4), 2140(6), 2140(13) (2024).)
To use the medication, the patient must ingest it on their own. A doctor or other person who administers the lethal medication may face criminal charges. (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(2), 2140(20) (2024).)
To find out more about the history and current status of death with dignity laws in the United States, visit the website of the Death With Dignity National Center.
For information about appointing a health care agent and making known your own wishes for medical care at the end of life, see the Living Wills & Medical Powers of Attorney section of Nolo.com.
Updated February 28, 2024
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