Despite advancing through several House committees, Minnesota’s End-of-Life Option Act did not receive a floor vote in the House or Senate during the 2024 legislative session, which ended earlier this week.

The legislation, co-authored by Rep. Andy Smith, DFL-Rochester, and Sen. Liz Boldon, DFL-Rochester, would have permitted medical aid in dying, also known as physician-assisted suicide. The measure would have allowed terminally ill adults to request a prescription for life-ending medication, which they would have to self-administer.

Rep. Mike Freiberg, DFL-Golden Valley, has introduced the End-of-Life Option Act in the Minnesota House several times. This year, the proposal advanced further than it ever had before. The House bill received a pre-session hearing in the House Health Finance and Policy Committee. Testimony for and against the bill ran for more than three hours.

Following the health committee, the bill progressed through the House’s public safety, judiciary and commerce committees.

The bill was not included in the health omnibus bill, which was ultimately passed as part of an even bigger omnibus bill Sunday night.

The End-of-Life Option Act’s companion bill in the Minnesota Senate did not receive any committee hearings in that chamber. In March, Boldon said there was not enough support in the Senate.

“It’s something that I very much hope we can continue talking about because it’s important, but there is a diversity of thought around this within my caucus in the Senate,” Boldon said. “And so I don’t see it having the votes to pass this session.”

Medical aid in dying is available in 10 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

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