The California End of Life Option Act went into effect on June 9, 2016, authorizing the compassionate option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults to get a prescription they can take to end their life peacefully. California’s Senate Bill 380, a bill to improve the existing law and extend the sunset provision, took effect in 2022.
SB1196, a bill with several proposed amendments that would pose significant risks to CA's current law, was submitted for consideration and ultimately pulled.
Check out our playlist of videos about the California End of Life Option Act:
Take Action
Attend an Event in California: Participate in virtual activities related to medical aid in dying and advance care planning.
Volunteer With Us:
Join other passionate and dedicated individuals to work to re-enact legislation that improves care and expands end-of-life choice.
Schedule a Presentation: We'll explain the full range of end-of-life options and explain step-by-step how the law works - in English and in Spanish..
"I want to rob cancer of its prize. I want to go out on my own terms."
Kevin Roster took his prescription for medical aid in dying and died peacefully on July 26, 2019.
Kevin Roster, a terminally ill, 36-year-old native New Yorker who moved from his longtime home in New Jersey to California so he could access its medical aid-in-dying law to peacefully end his suffering from sarcoma, died on July 26, 2019.
Title :Kevin "Racks" Roster
Featured Media Type :
Image
Include on Homepage :
No
Include on Testimonial Page :
No
Kevin shared his story in May of 2019. He took his prescription for medical aid in dying and died peacefully on July 26 of that year. Click here to read the press release.
Kevin, a terminally ill, 36-year-old native New Yorker who moved from his longtime home in New Jersey to California so he could access its medical aid-in-dying law to peacefully end his suffering from sarcoma, died peacefully in his sleep shortly after taking the aid-in-dying medication, surrounded by his wife, caretaker and best friend, at his apartment in Rancho Cordova.
He spent the final months of his life raising awareness about his disease and advocating for the authorization of state medical aid-in-dying laws across the country.
In June of 2019, with a prognosis of only weeks to live, traveled to Las Vegas to compete in his final World Series of Poker to raise awareness about his disease and his advocacy for medical aid in dying. Kevin’s story generated news coverage in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and in national media outlets, reaching millions of people. As a result of widespread news coverage about his story, 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champion Greg Merson put up the $10,000 entry fee, so Kevin could fulfill his last wish by playing in the WSOP main event in early July while wearing sarcoma education gear.
I am a 36-year-old dad who is dying of a rare cancer called sarcoma, which invades the body’s connective tissues, including the nerves, muscles, joints, bone, fat and blood vessels.
Sarcoma makes up only about 1% of adult cancers and is often diagnosed when it has already become too large to cure. Nearly 6,000 people die each year from it, according to the Sarcoma Foundation of America. As a result, I have dedicated much of my remaining life to raising awareness about sarcoma via a blog, YouTube videos and playing semiprofessional poker wearing sarcoma education gear.
Sarcoma has taken a huge toll on my health, but also on my family and personal life. When I received my original diagnosis in 2017, my wife and I owned a successful family business that specialized in buying and selling collectible items, including, ironically, items from the estates of deceased people.
With months to live, Kevin moved from New Jersey to Sacramento to utilize California's medical aid-in-dying law, but first, he plans to win the World Series of Poker: