Delaware's New MAID Law Earns Only a B Grade

Last year, in this JAMA article, I evaluated the accessibility of MAID in statutes and bills from more than 20 U.S. jurisdictions. I evaluated them along four dimensions: (1) types of clinicians authorized, (2) length of waiting period, (3) state residency requirements, and (4) transparency of conscience based refusals.  

Using these criteria, it looks like the just enacted The Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law scores only a 'B' grade.

Clinicians: Delaware earns an A on this measure. The state follows most West Coast MAID states and permits not only physicians but also APRNs to participate with providing MAID. This helps assure access.

Residency: Delaware earns an D on this measure. Unlike Oregon and Vermont, Delaware requires state residency. But this may be short lived. The constitutionality of this requirement is being evaluated right next door in New Jersey by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Waiting Period: Delaware earns an D on this measure. Unlike most West Coast MAID states, Delaware requires a 15 day waiting period between separate requests for MAID. Significant data shows that many patient cannot wait that long.

Transparency: Delaware earns an B+ on this measure. Delaware requires opting out facilities to provide notice to the public. But it remains to be seen if this will be well-regulated like Colorado or laxly regulated as in California.

Note that this grading is on a curve. I am only comparing Delaware to other U.S. MAID laws. All those laws are significantly more restrictive than MAID laws in European, South American, and Australasian jurisdictions.