Medical Aid in Dying in Rhode Island: Current Law and the Compassionate Care Act

Medical aid in dying (MAID) is not legal in Rhode Island as of 2026. The Lila Manfield Sapinsley Compassionate Care Act has been introduced multiple times but has not passed. Here is where things stand and what options terminally ill Rhode Island residents have.

The Compassionate Care Act: What It Would Allow

The most recent version of the Compassionate Care Act — introduced as companion bills 2026-H 7760 and 2026-S 2051 — would establish a framework for terminally ill adults to request physician-prescribed, self-administered medication to end their lives. The bill is modeled on Oregon's Death with Dignity Act, the oldest such law in the United States.

Under the proposed legislation:

• Eligibility: The patient must be a competent adult resident of Rhode Island diagnosed with a terminal illness likely to result in death within six months
• Safeguard process: Two verbal requests to the attending physician at least 15 days apart, followed by a written request signed before two qualified adult witnesses (at least one unrelated and not an heir)
• Self-administration required: The patient must self-administer the medication — the bill explicitly prohibits euthanasia, lethal injection, or mercy killing by a healthcare professional
• Mental capacity: The patient must be mentally capable of making their own decisions throughout the request process

Why It Has Not Passed

In May 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to hold the bill for further study, and it did not pass during the 2026 legislative session.

The bill's future depends on further legislative consideration in a later session.

What Terminally Ill Residents Can Do Now

While MAID is not available, Rhode Island law provides several tools for end-of-life care management:

Hospice and palliative care. Rhode Island residents can discuss symptom management and goals of care with hospice or palliative-care clinicians. This is distinct from MAID because it focuses on care and symptom relief rather than ending life.

Living Will. A properly executed Rhode Island Living Will allows you to refuse all life-sustaining treatment, including mechanical ventilation, when you have a terminal condition. You can also authorize the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration by checking the designated box on the statutory form.

MOLST / DNR. A Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form translates your preferences into immediate medical orders. Combined with a DNR order or Comfort One bracelet, this ensures that emergency responders honor your wishes to forgo resuscitation.

Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Any decision to decline food or fluids requires careful discussion with clinicians and medical support.

If the Law Changes

End-of-life advocacy groups continue to push for the Compassionate Care Act's passage in future sessions. If you want to stay informed, organizations like Compassion & Choices track legislation state by state.

Access Outside Rhode Island

Because MAID is not authorized in Rhode Island, do not assume that traveling to another state makes a program available. Other jurisdictions have their own residency and eligibility rules; verify current requirements directly before relying on them.

The Advance Directive Connection

While MAID and advance directives serve different purposes, they share a common foundation: documenting your healthcare preferences while you have capacity. An advance directive does not authorize MAID (even if it were legal), and a MAID request does not replace the need for an advance directive.

Regardless of where you stand on MAID, a complete advance directive ensures your other end-of-life preferences are legally documented — including your choices about life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition, and who speaks for you if you cannot speak for yourself.

The Rhode Island Advance Directive & Living Will Kit covers the full range of legally available options, including Living Will instructions, MOLST guidance, and DNR protocols.

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