The Bureaucratic Nightmare of Dying in the Wrong Zip Code
Crossing state lines for assisted dying sounds like a loophole. In reality, it is a lonely, expensive race against a ticking clock.
In 2023, a retired schoolteacher from Chicago spent her final $15,000 renting a studio apartment in Denver that she never intended to live in. She wasn't escaping Illinois winters; she was trying to die on her own terms. Illinois doesn't allow assisted dying, but Colorado does—if you can prove you live there. She spent her last coherent weeks scanning utility bills and lease agreements, proving to a state bureaucracy that she was "local" enough to qualify for a peaceful exit.
The direct answer
Crossing state lines for assisted dying is legally possible but functionally brutal. Only Oregon and Vermont have explicitly removed residency requirements for aid-in-dying, while other states still require proof of address like driver's licenses or voter registration. Even in states without residency rules, you must find local doctors willing to participate, undergo multiple physician evaluations spaced weeks apart, and physically ingest the medication within that state's borders. It is a costly, exhausting race against physical decline that often leaves families grieving in hotel rooms.
The Illusion of the Vermont and Oregon Loophole
In 2022 and 2023, Oregon and Vermont settled lawsuits that successfully removed their residency requirements for assisted dying. On paper, this was a massive victory for bodily autonomy, suggesting that anyone with
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