Maine's Death With Dignity Act

In 2019, the Maine legislature passed a death with dignity bill called the Death With Dignity Act that allows terminally ill patients to request aid in dying in certain clearly defined situations. Governor Janet Mills signed the bill into law June 12, 2019. In 2025, legislators passed an amendment to the law, intended to ensure that qualified patients will be able to access medical aid in dying.

In 2023 (the latest year for which statistics are available), 76 people received a prescription under the act, and 53 used it to die. (For additional statistics, see the Patient-Directed Care 2023 Annual Report published by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.)

This article first clarifies some confusing language related to medical aid in dying laws and then sets out the basics of Maine's law.

Medical Aid in Dying, Death With Dignity, Assisted Suicide, Right to Die: What's the Difference?

"Medical aid in dying" and "death with dignity" are two 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) (2025).)

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 "medical 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 "medical aid in dying" or "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.)

Death With Dignity Requirements in Maine

Both doctors and patients must comply with certain legal requirements in order for a patient to receive a prescription for aid-in-dying medication.

Which Patients Can Obtain Aid-In-Dying Medication?

To request a prescription for life-ending medication in Maine, a patient must be:

• at least 18 years old
• a Maine resident
• mentally capable of making and communicating health care decisions, and
• diagnosed with a terminal disease that will result in death within six months.

(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(2), 2140(4), 2140(15) (2025).)

A patient who meets the requirements above will be prescribed aid-in-dying medication only if:

• The patient makes two verbal requests to their doctor, at least 15 days apart. (Under HP381/LD613, passed in 2025, the doctor can waive a portion of the waiting period if they determine it is "in the best interests of the qualified patient, given the qualified patient's condition, as long as the waiting period in total is no less than 7 days.")
• The patient gives a written request to the doctor. (The law sets out the specific form that the patient must use.)
• The patient signs and dates the request for aid-in-dying medication in front of two qualified, adult witnesses. (See below for witness qualifications.)
• The witnesses sign and date the form and confirm the patient's identity.
• The witnesses declare that the patient has voluntarily signed the request in their presence and is of sound mind and isn't being coerced to sign.
• The witnesses declare that they aren't the patient's attending physician.

(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(5), 2140(11), 2140(13), 2140(24) (2025).)

Maine law places certain limits on 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:

• related to the patient by blood, marriage, or adoption
• entitled to inherit from the patient, or
• an employee, owner, or operator of the health care facility where the patient is receiving care.

(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, § 2140(5) (2025).)

What Are the Doctor's Obligations?

A doctor may prescribe aid-in-dying medication to an eligible patient only if:

• The prescribing doctor and one other doctor (the "consulting physician") confirm the patient's diagnosis and prognosis.
• The prescribing doctor and consulting physician determine that the patient is competent to make medical decisions.
• The patient has a psychological examination, if the prescribing doctor or consulting physician feels the patient's judgment is impaired.
• The prescribing doctor and consulting physician confirm that the patient is acting voluntarily and isn't being coerced or unduly influenced by others when making the request.
• The prescribing doctor informs the patient of any feasible alternatives to the medication, including care to relieve pain and keep the patient comfortable.
• The prescribing doctor informs the patient of the patient's diagnosis and prognosis, the potential risks of taking the medication, and the probable result of taking it.
• The prescribing doctor asks the patient to notify their next of kin of the prescription request. (The doctor can't require the patient to notify anyone, however.)
• The prescribing doctor offers the patient the opportunity to withdraw the request for aid-in-dying medication before granting the prescription.
• The prescribing doctor waits at least 48 hours between receiving the patient's written request for aid-in-dying medication and writing a prescription for the medication.

(Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 22, §§ 2140(4), 2140(6), 2140(13) (2025).)

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) (2025).)

Learn More

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.