Connecticut Lawmakers Struggle to Introduce Aid-in-Dying Bill Before Deadline

Advocates warn time is running out to pass legislation allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives.

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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Advocates of a medical-aid-in-dying bill in Connecticut warned Tuesday that they are running out of time to introduce a 2026 version of the controversial legislation before the final deadlines for legislative committees to raise bills for consideration expire on Friday. Supporters of the right-to-die bill for terminally ill, mentally competent patients are mounting a last-minute appeal to move a bill forward, but state legislators say the outlook is bleak due to time constraints, the controversial nature of the bill, and the likelihood of passage.

Why it matters

The issue of medical-aid-in-dying has been debated in Connecticut for years, with advocates arguing it is about preserving autonomy, dignity and choice for terminally ill patients, while opponents view it as legalized suicide. The failure to pass such legislation in Connecticut has forced some terminally ill patients to travel out of state to end their lives.

The details

The envisioned legislation would offer mentally competent adult patients diagnosed with a terminal illness and less than six months to live the choice to obtain a self-administered lethal prescription to end their life and suffering. A medical aid-in-dying bill has been introduced regularly since 2012 but has never moved beyond the committee level, with the issue presenting a tangle of ethical, moral, spiritual, social, medical and legal concerns.

  • The final deadlines for legislative committees to raise bills for consideration expire on Friday, February 17, 2026.
  • A medical-aid-in-dying bill was introduced in the Connecticut legislature in 2012 and has been introduced regularly since then, but has never moved beyond the committee level.

The players

Polly Gugino

A terminal cancer patient who advocates for medical-aid-in-dying legislation in Connecticut.

Deltra James

A mother of five from Waterbury who was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and urges state legislators to introduce a medical-aid-in-dying bill.

Josh Elliott

A state representative from Hamden and a longtime legislative advocate of allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending medications to patients diagnosed with terminal illnesses.

Steven Stafstrom

The House chair of the Judiciary Committee, who says a combination of time constraints, the controversial nature of the bill, and the likelihood of passage make it unlikely a medical aid-in-dying bill will move forward in 2026.

Jillian Gilchrest

The House chair of the Human Services Committee, who says the medical aid-in-dying proposal gives people one more option and that not passing it takes away that option.

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What they’re saying

“Medical-aid-in-dying is not about giving up. It is about preserving autonomy, dignity and choice under the safest and strictest medical safeguards. Without this option in Connecticut, I may have to leave my home state and travel somewhere else, which is difficult when you are at the end of life. My home is my sanctuary, a place where I feel most myself, most at peace, most surrounded by love.”

— Polly Gugino, Terminal cancer patient (greenwichtime.com)

“This proposal gives people one more option. If we don't pass it, it takes away that option.”

— Jillian Gilchrest, State Representative, House chair of the Human Services Committee (greenwichtime.com)

What’s next

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The takeaway

This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.