DENVER (KDVR) — A coalition of disability and patient advocacy groups is suing the State of Colorado, claiming the state’s medical aid in dying law violates civil rights and puts vulnerable patients at risk.
These Colorado laws went into effect on July 1
The federal lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver, argues that Colorado’s End of Life Options Act is unconstitutional and discriminates against people with disabilities. It also alleges the law has been applied to individuals who are not terminally ill.
Matt Vallière, executive director of the Institute for Patients’ Rights and one of the plaintiffs, said the law “violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and parts of the U.S. Constitution.”
Plaintiffs pointed to a case involving a 28-year-old woman with anorexia who received a lethal prescription while in hospice care but later recovered. Advocates say her case shows how the law can be misapplied…