California’s new SB 403 removes the 2031 expiration of the End of Life Option Act, locking in medical aid in dying as a permanent state policy.
California has quietly but decisively erased one of the last guardrails on assisted dying. With the passage of SB 403, the legislature has removed the “sunset clause” in the state’s End of Life Option Act, making the assisted-suicide law permanent rather than set to expire in 2031.
Originally enacted in 2015 and implemented in 2016, the EOLOA allowed mentally capable adults with terminal diagnoses (six months or less to live) to request a prescription for lethal medication they themselves would self-administer.
Under SB 403, the only change is the removal of the expiration date. The statute’s other provisions—wait periods, physician review, safeguards against coercion—remain intact. The bill advanced through both legislative houses and was sent to Gov. Newsom for signature.
Supporters of the bill argue it ensures stability and predictability for terminally ill Californians. Charmaine Manansala of Compassion & Choices stated that “for the last 10 years, the End of Life Option Act has been working as intended… SB 403 does not change the law in any way – it simply removes the sunset.”
Dan Díaz, husband of late advocate Brittany Maynard, testified similarly, “Making this law permanent ensures that option.”
Opponents, however, regard SB 403 as the quiet normalization of state-sanctioned death. Chef Andrew Gruel, who serves on the City Council of Huntington Beach, said, “The ‘sunset clause’ is gone. Newsom fanatics call it dignity and choice; I call it the quiet normalization of state-sanctioned death.”
While the EOLOA has been closely monitored—with no substantiated cases of fraud or abuse reported in annual state audits—its permanence now eliminates any requirement for future reauthorization or substantive debate.
What had been framed as “dignity and choice” is now entrenched policy. SB 403 removes a safety valve: the sunset clause that compelled periodic reexamination. This turns a conditional, time-limited experiment into a long-term commitment.
