Hogan Lovells files federal lawsuit challenging Colorado’s medical aid-in-dying residency requirement

The suit was brought on behalf of Jeff McComas, a Minnesota resident with terminal intestinal cancer, and Colorado physicians Dr. Barbara Morris and Dr. Jennifer Harbert. It seeks to block enforcement of the residency provision, which currently prevents otherwise eligible patients from accessing medical aid in dying solely because they live outside Colorado.

"It is extremely burdensome and expensive to establish residency in a new state while terminally ill—no one should have to bear that burden," said Hogan Lovells counsel Liz Och, who is based in Denver. "By enforcing this residency requirement, Colorado is imposing an unconstitutional barrier to medical care," she said.

The complaint alleges that the residency requirement violates the U.S. Constitution’s Privileges and Immunities Clause, which prohibits states from restricting non-residents’ access to essential medical care without a substantial and narrowly tailored justification. It also asserts a violation of the Commerce Clause, which bars states from enacting laws that discriminate against interstate commerce by limiting physicians’ ability to provide lawful medical services to non-residents. The complaint further asserts a violation of the Equal Protection Clause, which requires states to treat all similarly situated persons alike, including non-residents who are terminally ill.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, is the fourth constitutional challenge brought by Compassion & Choices to state residency requirements in medical aid-in-dying statutes. Colorado is among eight U.S. jurisdictions—including Washington, D.C., Washington State, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, and New Mexico—that continue to enforce such requirements.

Colorado’s End-of-Life Options Act, enacted in 2016, permits mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to obtain a prescription for medication to end unbearable suffering. However, the law requires providers to verify that patients are Colorado residents before issuing such prescriptions, effectively excluding non-residents from accessing this end-of-life option.

The Hogan Lovells team also includes senior counsel Michael C. Theis, senior associate David Willner, and associate Steve Bruns, all based in the firm’s Denver office.