SB 1530 Summary

• Establishes Arizona's Medical Aid in Dying law allowing terminally ill adults with decision-making capacity to request a prescription for life-ending medication that they self-administer orally.

• Requires a 15-day waiting period between initial oral request and written request, with an exception if the attending physician attests the individual will die within 15 days; both an attending physician and consulting physician must confirm the terminal illness diagnosis and patient capacity.

• Mandates attending physician counsel patients on diagnosis, prognosis, medication risks and benefits, and alternative end-of-life care options (comfort care, palliative care, hospice, pain control), with optional mental health professional evaluation if psychiatric concerns exist.

• Protects health care providers from civil, criminal, and professional liability for good-faith participation in medical aid in dying; permits health care facilities to prohibit the practice on their premises if they provide advance written notice.

• Defines terminal illness as an incurable condition expected to result in death within six months; requires residency in Arizona and prohibits coercion or undue influence; specifies the underlying terminal illness as cause of death on death certificates, not the medication self-administration.