Current Status
HB2254, Relating to End of Life Decisions, introduced by Representative Powers Hannley, District 9, was filed on January 13, 2021, for consideration during the 2021 session (download HB2254 as filed).
Follow progress using our Legislative Tracker.
Our Partner
We are advocating for death with dignity legislation in Arizona in collaboration with Arizona End-of-Life Options, a grassroots coalition organized to “gain passage of a state law making it possible for terminally ill Arizona residents to legally obtain medications that eliminate undue suffering at the end of life.”
Resources
Arizona State Legislature website
Death with Dignity Legislative Tracker
Polling
- A Behavioral Research Center’s Rocky Mountain Poll in October 2015 found that 56 percent of Arizonans support physician-assisted dying legislation.
- A December 2017 survey found 53 percent of Arizona physicians support assisted dying.
Municipal Resolutions
A number of cities and towns in Arizona have passed resolutions endorsing death with dignity legislation:
History
2020
In the 2020 legislative session, a number of Arizona state legislators introduced companion death with dignity bills (HB 2582/SB 1384, the Arizona Medical Aid in Dying Act) as well as a separate bill, SB 1497, the Arizona Death with Dignity Act. None of the bills met required legislative deadlines.
HB 2582, the Arizona Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Introduced on January 16, 2020
- Full text of HB 2582
- Legislative history of HB 2582 (select session and bill number)
- Sponsor: Representative Pamela Powers Hannley (D)
SB 1384, the Arizona Medical Aid in Dying Act
- Introduced on January 28, 2020
- Full text of SB 1384
- Legislative history of SB 1384 (select session and bill number)
- Sponsor: Senator Juan Mendez (D)
- Referred to Senate Rules and Judiciary Committees
SB 1497, the Arizona Death with Dignity Act
- Introduced on January 30, 2020
- Full text of SB 1497 (select session and bill number)
- Legislative history of SB 1497
- Sponsor: Senator Victoria Steele (D)
- Referred to Senate Rules and Judiciary Committees
2019
Death with dignity bills were introduced and referred to legislative committees in 2019. None of the bills advanced.
HB 2408
- Introduced on January 16, 2019.
- Full text of HB 2408, the Death with Dignity Act (2019)
- Legislative history of HB 2408 (select session and bill number)
- Sponsor: Representative Pamela Powers Hannley (D)
- Referred to the House Rules Committee.
HB 2512
- Introduced on January 17, 2019.
- Full text of HB 2512, the Death with Dignity Act (2019)
- Legislative history of HB 2512 (select session and bill number)
- Sponsor: Representative Alma Hernandez (D)
- Referred to the House Rules Committee.
SB 1193
- Introduced on January 24, 2019.
- Full text of SB 1193, the Death with Dignity Act (2019)
- Legislative history of SB 1193 (select session and bill number)
- Sponsor: Senator Juan Mendez (D)
2018
Representative Powers Hannley sponsored HB 2102, Arizona Death with Dignity Act and later in the session, Representative Gonzales introduced HB 2611, Death with Dignity Act.
In the Senate, Senator Bradley sponsored a companion bill, SB 1222, on January 18, 2018. On January 26, a group of Senators, including primary sponsor Senator Mendez, co-sponsored SB 1414, also called the Death with Dignity Act. None of the bills advanced.
2017
A pair of assisted dying bills were introduced in the Arizona State Legislature in January 2017: SB 1512 and HB 2336, both titled Death with Dignity Act. Neither bill moved out of committee.
In the 2017 session, a SB 1439, Prohibition on Discrimination Against Health Care Entities passed in the Arizona State Legislature and was subsequently signed by the Governor on March 24, 2017. The law prohibits discrimination against medical care providers who opt out of assisted dying legislation.
2016
Arizona State Senator Barbara McGuire (D) introduced SB 1136, Death with Dignity, on January 19, 2016. The bill did not advance.
Pre-2016
The Arizona State legislature considered death with dignity bills several times. In 2003, Representative Linda Lopez (D) introduced an Oregon-modeled aid in dying bill (HB 2454) and a bill allowing terminally ill patients to control their own pain medications, even if they could hasten their death (HB 2564). Rep. Lopez introduced a similar set of bills again in 2006 (HB 2313/2314).
