Current Status
The Utah State Legislature is not considering an aid in dying bill at this time.
Resources
Utah State Legislature website
Death with Dignity Legislative Tracker
Polling
A December 2015 UtahPolicy.com poll found that 58 percent of Utahns support physician-assisted dying legislation. While Republicans are divided on the issue with 41 percent in favor and 50 percent opposed, Democrats and independents overwhelmingly prefer the idea with 90 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of independents supporting.
The poll found that the only religious group opposed to death with dignity were members of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) who self-identified as “very active.” Those identifying as “somewhat active” favored the idea of a right-to-die law 79-16 percent, and “not active” favored 87-11 percent. Seventy-six percent of Catholics, 80 percent of Protestants, and 94 percent of non-religious people favored the idea.
History
2020
- HB 93
- Introduced on January 27, 2020
- Sponsor: Utah State Representative Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D-24)
- Full text of HB 93
- Legislative history of HB 93
- Referred to the House Rules Committee
2019
Utah State Representative Jennifer Dailey-Provost (D-24) introduced HB 121, End of Life Options Act on January 9, 2019. The Rules Committee of the Utah House of Representatives voted on January 31 to not allow the bill to be heard in committee.
2015-2018
Utah State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D-Salt Lake City) sponsored an aid in dying bill four times:
- 2018: HB 210, Utah End of Life Options Act
- 2017: HB 76, End of Life Options Act – tabled in the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee on a 9 to 3 vote.
- 2016: HB 264, End of Life Options Act – heard in the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee and referred for further study. The Health and Human Services Interim Committee then heard the proposal in June; no further action was taken.
- 2015: HB 391, Utah Death with Dignity Act – heard in the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee and sent for further study during an interim session. The 2015 session was the first time a death with dignity bill was considered in the Utah legislature.
