Two states,
Oregon and Washington, currently have statutes providing a procedure for a
terminally ill patient to request medication to end his or her life. These laws
are sometimes referred to as “death with dignity” or “physician-assisted
suicide” laws.
Massachusetts
voters considered a ballot initiative this year to enact a law allowing
state-licensed physicians to prescribe medication for terminally ill patients,
under prescribed procedures, to end the person's life. Voters rejected the
initiative by a narrow margin, 51% to 49%.
While
Montana does not have an assisted suicide statute, the state's Supreme Court
ruled in 2009 that doctors have a defense to prosecution for assisting a
suicide with the person's consent. Under Montana law, a victim's consent to
conduct is a defense to prosecution. But consent is ineffective when it is
against public policy to permit the conduct or the resulting harm. The court ruled
that a physician's aid to a terminally ill, mentally competent adult is not
against public policy and thus a person's consent can be a defense to
prosecution (Baxter v. Montana, 354 Mont. 234 (2009)).
Connecticut
last considered a right to die bill in 2009. The Judiciary Committee bill (SB
1138) was similar to the Oregon and Washington laws. The committee voted to box
the bill. In recent years, similar bills were introduced in a handful of other
states (such as Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania).
For more
information, read the
full report.
