Status of Medical Aid in Dying
Medical aid in dying is currently authorized in Hawai‘i. Legislation to improve the Our Care, Our Choice Act (OCOCA) passed and was signed by Governor Josh Green on June 2, 2023. Improvements to the law include:
- Adding Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) with prescriptive authority in the definitions of attending and consulting providers and psychiatric nurse practitioners in the definition of counseling providers, in alignment with their scope of practice.
- Allowing APRNs to participate as providers under the Our Care, Our Choice Act helps address the disparity in access to participating providers, particularly in rural areas and on the neighboring islands.
- Reducing the minimum 20-day waiting period between the first and second oral requests to five days.
- If a patient meets the qualifications for medical aid in dying and is unlikely to survive the mandatory waiting period, the attending provider may waive the mandatory waiting period. Two of the largest healthcare systems found that a significant number of eligible patients die in exactly the way they do not want to during the mandatory minimum waiting period. This bill will allow a qualified patient’s attending provider to waive the waiting period if, in their medical judgment, the patient is unlikely to survive that waiting period.
Find more videos from our PSA campaign here.
Take Action
- Attend an Event in Hawai‘i: 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.
- Follow us on Facebook.
- Sign our petition to show your support for improving the Our Care, Our Choice Act.
Education & Outreach
In January 2020 alone, Compassion & Choices participated in multiple events with volunteers and supporters, including a successful panel discussion on the one year anniversary of the Our Care, Our Choice Act’s implementation. Learn more about the Hawai‘i Our Care, Our Choice Act.
Tools and Resources
For Patients Learn about the Our Care, Our Choice Act. You can also access information about the law in five languages.
End-of-Life Planning Use our step-by-step guide to chart your journey or access the California advance directive directly here.
Recursos en Español Recursos en Español.
COVID-19 Toolkit Get answers to your questions
about COVID-19 and end of life care.
Resources for Providers Find resources tailored to the needs of healthcare providers.
Dementia Values & Priorities Tool Use our tool to document your preferences to make sure you get the care you want.