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Delaware Gov. Signs Widely-Supported Medical Aid-in-Dying Bill Into Law in Public Ceremony After Decade of Advocacy Led by Compassion & Choices
(DOVER, Del. – May 20, 2025) Delaware Governor Matt Meyer today signed the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act into law in a public signing ceremony, ending a decade of dedicated advocacy led by Compassion & Choices Action Network and fulfilling his September 2024 promise to authorize the option of medical aid in dying for terminally ill Delawareans.
The new law will grant a terminally ill, mentally capable adult with six months or less to live the option to request a prescription from their healthcare provider for medication they can choose to self-ingest and die on their own terms. Delaware is the 12th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying (10 other states plus Washington, D.C.) and the first to do so since New Mexico in April 2021. The law takes effect on January 1, 2026 or once the final regulations are formed to support the law, whichever is sooner.
“Today I’m going to sign a bill that speaks to compassion, dignity, and respect for personal choice,” said Governor Meyer in an emotional speech before the signing. “This signing today is about relieving suffering and giving families the comfort of knowing that their loved one was able to pass on their own terms, without unnecessary pain, and surrounded by the people they love most.”
Governor Meyer signs the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act into law surrounded by advocates and legislative champions on May 20.
“By signing the Delaware End-of-Life Options Act into law, Governor Meyer demonstrates profound compassion and leadership, recognizing the courageous decade-long advocacy of Ron Silverio, Heather Block, Tom LaFollette, Chuck Knothe, Diane Kraus, and countless other terminally ill advocates who fought tirelessly for their right to die peacefully on their own terms,” said Kevin Díaz, Interim President/CEO for Compassion & Choices and Compassion & Choices Action Network. “Delaware voters and physicians overwhelmingly support this critical legislation, as does the rest of the nation. Compassion & Choices remains committed to expanding access and ensuring all terminally ill individuals have the compassionate end-of-life care options they deserve.”
“This momentous day is the culmination of over 10 years of tireless work in Delaware by Compassion & Choices Action Network and the dynamic coalition of supporters we built, including volunteers, terminally ill advocates, medical professionals, legislative champions, and supporters from all walks of life,” said Tim Appleton, Delaware senior campaign director for Compassion & Choices Action Network, who has worked on the campaign since the beginning. “We could not have done it without the steadfast leadership of Rep. Eric Morrison, former Rep. Paul Baumbach for many years before, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, and the unwavering advocacy of terminally ill Delawareans, some of whom gave their last days advocating for this compassionate end-of-life care option.”
“I thank Governor Meyer for doing what our former Governor refused to do: to listen to our residents and honor the wishes of terminally ill Delawareans,” said former State Representative Paul Baumbach, who originally introduced HB 140 to the state legislature in 2015 and carried it until his retirement in 2024. “After a decade, I am so grateful to see the compassionate option of medical aid in dying available in Delaware, and I am honored to have contributed to its passage.”
In a speech before the public signing of the bill, Baumbach recognized the support Compassion & Choices Action Network provided along the way, specifically recognizing Tim Appleton, Delaware Senior Campaign Director, and Heather Pope, Delaware Campaign Manager. “There is no way that I could have maintained this effort with this bill and made sure that it was right without Compassion & Choices and without those individuals.”
”Many of us have witnessed how terrible the end of life can be, as my mother did working as a hospital registration clerk for 32 years. Then, she herself suffered terribly during her final six months of life,” said lead sponsor Rep. Eric Morrison, who was named as one of Delaware’s most influential people in healthcare in 2025 because of his work on HB 140. “I am proud and humbled to have led this bill into law, in collaboration with Sen. Townsend, our supportive colleagues in the House and Senate, and Gov. Meyer, so that all terminally ill Delawareans have the option to die on their own terms with as little suffering as possible.”
“Thanks to this signing today, all Delawareans can now have merciful deaths and leave life-affirming legacies,” said longtime Wilmington advocate Judy Govatos, who has incurable lymphoma, during the signing ceremony. “There are no losers here with this bill. Delawareans with six months or less to live can choose to fight for their lives to their very last breath, and those of us who prefer a more peaceful death can request a prescription that will ease our last breath.”
Coincidentally, Govatos also shared that today is her 81st birthday, and “as a person whose cancer has recently recurred for the third time, this is the best birthday present ever.”
Judy Govatos (left) and Susan Lahaie and Kevin Díaz, President/CEO for Compassion & Choices/Compassion & Choices Action Network, holding a framed photo of her husband Ron Silverio (right) during Governor Meyer’s public signing ceremony on May 20.
The Delaware End-of-Life Options Act is named in honor of two dedicated Delaware advocates, Dover resident Ron Silverio and Lewes resident Heather Block, both of whom died in 2018 without the option of medical aid in dying they fought for.
Silverio’s wife Susan Lahaie, a retired Dover nurse practitioner, has continued to advocate in his honor, and spoke during the signing ceremony today.
“Our family is so proud to have this bill named, in part, for my husband Ron,” said Lahaie. “Ron would have said that terminally ill people of Delaware can now focus on living without having to worry so much about how they were going to die.”
“I’m so grateful to former lead sponsor Paul Baumbach and the many others who never gave up on getting this bill passed,” Lahaie said in a statement to Compassion & Choices. “Ron would be honored, as is our family, of the legacy he has left for the terminally ill people of Delaware.”
Compassion & Choices Action Network staff, including Heather Pope, Delaware Campaign Manager (center), Tim Appleton, Delaware Senior Campaign Manager (upper right), and Charmaine Manansala, Chief Advocacy Officer (bottom right) gather with Team Delaware advocates at Legislative Hall in Dover on April 17 following the Senate floor vote on HB 140.
Compassion & Choices Action Network and its volunteers have worked tirelessly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, earning HB 140 the most sponsors and cosponsors (18) since its original introduction in 2015. The Senate voted 11-8 to pass the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act in April, following the House’s passage of the bill in a 21-17 bipartisan vote in March. Notably, the bill passed the Delaware General Assembly for the first time in June 2024, but former Governor Carney vetoed it in September 2024.
The law features numerous safeguards in line with other U.S. jurisdictions, including a requirement that two healthcare providers certify that a person requesting medical aid in dying has a prognosis of six months or less to live, and makes it a crime to coerce a terminally ill person into using this end-of-life option.
Medical aid in dying is authorized in 10 other states and Washington, D.C., representing more than one out of five U.S. residents. Oregon was the first state to implement the medical practice over 25 years ago in 1997. For more information and frequently asked questions about medical aid in dying, visit: compassionandchoices.org/resource/frequently-asked-questions
About Compassion & Choices/Compassion & Choices Action Network
Compassion & Choices comprises two organizations that improve care and expand options at life’s end: Compassion & Choices (501(c)(3)) educates, empowers, defends, and advocates; the Compassion & Choices Action Network (501(c)(4)) focuses exclusively on legislation, ballot campaigns, and limited electoral work. CompassionAndChoices.org/Delaware
Paid for by Compassion & Choices Action Network.
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Spanish Language Media Contact: Patricia A. González-Portillo, (323) 819-0310, [email protected]
