Is there such a thing as equity in dying?

With so many challenges in finding equitable ways for Coloradans to live, it should come as no surprise there are troubling challenges in finding equitable ways to die. Deep questions of how Colorado values individual lives and freedoms, and how to assure fairness in the most daunting of medical situations, were not solved when voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 106 to legalize “end-of-life options.” Two-thirds of voters agreed that a person within six months of death should have the choice of taking a prescribed set of drugs to end their life. In just the first few weeks of the law’s existence, though, large swaths of potentially interested Colorado residents have seen that choice essentially taken off the table, in terms of access, coverage or both. (author abstract)