HB 06425 Summary

• Establishes a medical aid in dying process for terminally ill Connecticut residents with a prognosis of six months or less, requiring patients to be competent adults who make two oral requests and one written request to their attending physician.

• Requires both an attending physician and a consulting physician to confirm the patient's terminal illness diagnosis and competency, with mandatory psychiatric evaluation if depression or other conditions affecting judgment are suspected.

• Allows physicians to dispense or prescribe medication that patients may self-administer, with the underlying terminal illness listed as the cause of death on the death certificate.

• Prohibits contracts, wills, and insurance policies from conditioning any terms on a patient's decision to request aid in dying, and exempts such actions from being classified as suicide or criminal activity.

• Protects health care providers and facilities by making participation voluntary while allowing facilities to adopt written policies prohibiting participation, and prohibits any disciplinary action against providers who comply in good faith with the act's provisions.