Medical Aid in Dying Constitutionality - First Appellate Court Hearing

Five constituional challenges to medical aid in dying statutes are pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits as well as before U.S. District Courts for Colorado and the Northern District of Illinois.   

While the Ninth Circuit case is years old, it has been indefinitely stayed. So, the first case to be heard will be the Delaware case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Oral argument is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Curran v. Governor of Delaware, No. 26-1001.

Notably, the plaintiff disability rights organizations have lost every single case at the trial court level. But these have typically been adjudicated on standing. So, the arguments may not reach the merits - the ADA and 14th Amendment challenges.