DENVER, Nov. 8 (UPI) — Colorado voters Tuesday said yes to a law allowing people who are terminally ill and expected to live six months or less to end their lives with the help of doctors.
Colorado voters decisively passed Proposition 106, making it the state the sixth in the nation to allow sick people to opt for assisted suicide.
The law is similar to one passed in Oregon 20 years ago, which allows patients to take prescription medications to end their lives after two doctors have determined they are sane and have fewer than six months to live. This means people with any type of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, would not be able to get a prescription.
“This is a historic day for all Coloradans, and an especially tremendous victory for terminally ill adults who worry about horrific suffering in their final days,” said Barbara Coombs Lee, president of the Compassion and Choices Action Network. “We are delighted the significant investment paid off and are proud to have lent the expertise and resources to empower the voters of Colorado. We congratulate Colorado for becoming the sixth state where more people have peace of mind at the end of life and fewer suffer unnecessarily.”
Colorado now joins five other states — Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana and California — as the only in the United States to permit assisted suicide.
