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HB 5825

Health: death; death with dignity act; create. Creates new act. TIE BAR WITH: HB 5826'26, HB 5828'26

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brenda Carter and 5 co-sponsors

Establishes a tightly regulated framework for physician-assisted life-ending medication, with strict eligibility, informed-decision requirements, safeguards, and reporting.

bill electronically reproduced 04/21/2026
#healthoccupations:physicians #health:death #stateagencies(existing):healthandhumanservices
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 5825

Summary of HB 5825 (Michigan, 2025-2026) – Death with Dignity Act

Note: The bill is titled “death with dignity act” and is paired with HB 5826 and HB 5828 as tie-bar bills.

1) Purpose and Intent

  • Establishes a Michigan statute framework to regulate physician assistance for patient-requested life-ending medication.
  • Creates safeguards to determine eligibility, ensures informed decision-making, requires documentation and reporting, and sets civil/criminal remedies and professional sanctions for violations.
  • Repeals existing related provisions (specific prior sections in penal code and a 1992 act) as part of a broader statutory overhaul.
  • Contains a (targeted) override condition: this act only takes effect if all three tie-bar bills (HB 5826, HB 5828, and this bill) are enacted into law.

2) Key Provisions and Changes

Definitions (Sec. 2)

  • Adult: 18 years or older.
  • Attending physician: primary care physician responsible for care of the patient with a terminal disease.
  • Capable: patient’s ability to make and communicate health care decisions, including via others if appropriate.
  • Consulting physician: qualified to diagnose/prognose terminal disease.
  • Counseling: mental health evaluation to determine capability and absence of impairing psychiatric disorder/depression.
  • Health care provider: licensed or authorized individual/entity in Michigan.
  • Informed decision: patient’s decision to request life-ending medication, based on full information provided.
  • Medically confirmed: attending physician’s diagnosis confirmed by consulting physician.
  • Qualified patient: adult who meets all requirements to obtain life-ending medication.
  • Terminal disease: incurable, irreversible disease, prognosis death within 6 months as reasonably judged.
  • Other terms: psychiatrist, psychologist, etc., as defined.

Patient Eligibility and Requests (Sec. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12)

  • A capable patient with a terminal disease who voluntary requests life-ending medication may submit a written request.
  • A written request must be signed and dated and witnessed by two individuals who certify the patient’s capability, voluntariness, and lack of coercion.
  • Witness restrictions: at least one non-relatives and not an heir to the estate; not the patient’s attending physician; if in long-term care, one witness designated by the facility per DHHS rules.
  • Attending physician duties (Sec. 5): determine terminal disease, ensure informed decision, refer to a consulting physician for medical confirmation and voluntariness, consider counseling, notify next of kin, inform about presence of another person when taking medication, and acknowledge the patient’s right to rescind the request; verify informed decision immediately prior to prescription; document accordingly.
  • Consulting physician duties (Sec. 6): examine patient and records, confirm terminal disease, and verify capability, voluntariness, and informed decision.
  • Counseling (Sec. 7): if psychiatric/psychological disorder or depression is suspected, patient must undergo counseling and may not receive life-ending medication until mental health professional determines lack of impairment.

Informed Decision and Provision of Medication (Sec. 8, 9)

  • Attending physician may not prescribe unless patient has made an informed decision; verification must occur immediately before prescription.
  • Attending physician should recommend notifying next of kin, but failure or inability to notify does not bar the request.

Waiting Period and Rescission (Sec. 10, 11)

  • Oral and written requests must be made; reiterated oral request after at least 15 days.
  • At second oral request, the patient is offered an opportunity to rescind.
  • Rescission can occur at any time and in any manner; physicians must provide the opportunity to rescind.

Documentation and Records (Sec. 13, 15)

  • Medical records must include: all oral and written requests, diagnoses and prognoses, confirmations of capability and informed decision, counseling records (if performed), rescission offer, and a note that all requirements were met and the prescribed medication details.
  • DHHS must annually review a sample of records, require dispensing providers to file dispensing records, and produce an annual statistical report (with identifying information protected).

Protections and Restrictions (Sec. 15, Sec. 18-19, Sec. 20)

  • Protections for participants acting in good faith compliance: civil/criminal liability and professional sanctions are generally avoided for those participating in good-faith compliance.
  • Professional bodies cannot sanction individuals for participating in good-faith compliance; patients’ requests or physicians’ provision of medication in good faith are not neglectful or grounds for guardianship absent other concerns.
  • Providers who object to participation may prohibit others from participating on their premises; sanctions may apply to the participating provider under the sanctioning facility’s policies, subject to due process.
  • Cooperation and records transfer obligations exist if a provider declines to participate.
  • Penalties: forging or destroying requests, coercion, or undue influence are felonies up to 20 years’ imprisonment and/or fines up to $375,000; other related liability remains for negligent or intentional misconduct.

Insurance and Other Impacts (Sec. 17)

  • Insurance policies (life, health, accident, annuities) may not be conditioned on, or affected by, an individual’s request or rescission, and the act of ingesting medication does not affect insurance coverage.

Form and Enactment (Sec. 22)

  • Provides a standardized form for requests, including witness declarations, family notification preferences, and acknowledgment of voluntary decision and risks.

3) Who Would be Affected

  • Qualified patients pursuing life-ending medication.
  • Attending physicians and consulting physicians involved in diagnosis, assessment, and prescribing, and any required counseling.
  • Psychiatrists and psychologists conducting counseling.
  • Family members and next of kin (notification encouraged; not mandatory for eligibility).
  • Long-term care facilities and health care providers operating in Michigan, including their staff.
  • Health care facilities and professional associations (potential sanctions or protections depending on participation).
  • Insurance providers and policyholders (protections against conditioning coverage on requests).
  • State Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for oversight, data collection, and reporting.

4) Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Waiting/notice periods: at least 15 days between initial oral request and prescription; at least 48 hours between written request and prescription.
  • Two or more witnesses required for the written request; one witness must be disinterested (not related, not an heir, not affiliated with the facility).
  • Counseling, if indicated, must occur before final determination.
  • Annual DHHS review of records and public but anonymized statistical reporting; rulemaking to implement certain subsections (e.g., long-term care witness requirement, information collection).
  • Tie-bar requirement: HB 5825 requires enactment of HB 5826 and HB 5828 for this act to take effect.

5) Notable Legal and Policy Considerations

  • Repeals certain existing provisions related to physician-assisted death and related acts, signaling a comprehensive reform.
  • Explicit protections for participants acting in good faith, while allowing institutions to regulate participation on their premises.
  • Substantial recordkeeping and reporting, with privacy safeguards for the published data.
  • The act clarifies that providing life-ending medication is not equivalent to euthanasia or suicide under the law, but rather a permitted medical decision under tightly regulated conditions.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with current Michigan law on physician-assisted death or a calendar of anticipated regulatory steps and anticipated regulatory deadlines.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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