A group supporting medical aid-in-dying sued Colorado on Thursday, alleging the state’s ban on assisting out-of-state residents in ending their lives violates the U.S. Constitution.
Compassion & Choices filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of a Minnesota resident with stage 4 cancer and two Colorado physicians who prescribe aid-in-dying medication: Dr. Barbara Morris, of Golden, and Dr. Jennifer Harbert, of Creede.
The organization argues that the law’s requirement that a patient must be a Colorado resident to access medical aid-in-dying unconstitutionally limits interstate commerce, and denies people from other states the same rights as the state’s own citizens.
“As the law is currently written, I cannot provide the same medical care that I deem appropriate to non-Colorado residents,” Harbert said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. “I am simply saying that all the patients I treat in Colorado should have access to the same care.”
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
A bill in the Colorado legislature in 2024 would have allowed out-of-state residents to access medical aid-in-dying, and shortened the waiting period to receive lethal medication from 15 days to two days. The version that passed took out the provision opening the program to non-residents, and included a seven-day waiting period.
Jeff McComas, the Minnesota resident, said in the lawsuit that he still is undergoing chemotherapy and doesn’t want to die now, but wishes to have the option in the future. Minnesota doesn’t allow medical aid-in-dying.
“It is important to Mr. McComas that he maintain control of his medical decisions during the entire course of his end-of-life treatment, which includes medical decisions surrounding his death,” the lawsuit said. “Mr. McComas wants to direct and control his end-of-life care so that he can die peacefully surrounded by his family.”
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