Michigan House Democrats introduced a package of bills in April 2025 to establish a “Death with Dignity Act” allowing physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients. The legislation has been referred to the House Government Operations Committee.

State Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, a co-sponsor of the bills, said the goal is not to shorten life but “to shorten somebody’s death process.” She added that referral to the committee “indicates Republican leadership is not interested in taking up the legislation.” With Democrats in the minority, Rheingans said her caucus is focusing on education and advocacy around the issue.

The proposal would permit terminally ill, competent adults with fewer than six months to live to request medication to end their lives, following multiple procedural safeguards. Similar laws are in effect in 14 U.S. states, covering more than 100 million Americans. Illinois and New York also adopted such laws in 2025, joining California, Colorado, and Montana.

State Rep. Matthew Bierlein, R-Vassar, opposes the legislation, calling it a “fringe proposal” lacking support from health care professionals. The American Medical Association’s code of medical ethics states physician-assisted suicide is “fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.” The Michigan State Medical Society opposes such legislation, saying it interferes with the patient-physician relationship.

Genevieve Marnon, legislative director for Right to Life of Michigan, warned the policy could normalize lethal intervention as a medical option. “We want to alleviate the suffering without eliminating the person who suffers,” she said. Marnon cited Canada’s experience, where over 16,000 people used assisted dying in 2024—5.1% of all deaths—as a cautionary example. “That’s a policy position,” she said. “You need to think through all of the ramifications.”

About 60% of Americans consider physician-assisted death morally acceptable or not a moral issue, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Michigan voters rejected a similar ballot measure in 1998 by a 71% margin. Senate Democrats had also pushed for legalization in the previous legislative term.