After nearly five years, the New Mexico Department of Health has finally published its first annual report on the usage of medical aid in dying under the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act.
From 2022 through 2025, MAID medication was prescribed to 723 individuals in New Mexico. Most of the demographics are the same as long-reported in other states. But one remarkable difference is in the underlying illness.
In 2025, cancer accounted for just 49% of the terminal illnesses of New Mexico patients participating in medical aid-in-dying. That is much lower than the figures reported almost everywhere else in the United States and perhaps even the world. Cardiovascular diseases accounted for 17%; neurological diseases accounted for 14%; respiratory diseases accounted for 9%; and renal disease accounted for 2% of terminal illnesses.
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