Montana Declines to Criminalize Doctors Aiding Patient Suicide

The Montana state senate committee recently declined to pass a bill that would criminalize doctors prescribing life-ending drugs to their terminally ill patients.  In 2009, the Montana Supreme Court legalized physician assisted suicide, allowing mentally competent adults to be prescribed fatal doses of medication. 

Montana’s governor signed Senate Bill 142 just last week, which codifies the “right” to try drugs that are still in the clinical trial phases of testing.  In passing this legislation, Montana has joined twelve other states including Louisiana, which enacted House Bill 891 and allows patients with terminal illnesses to obtain drugs not yet approved by the FDA.  This law allows doctors, hospitals and manufacturers to bypass the FDA and shield them from prosecution.  Opponents of these laws argue any unapproved drugs could endanger the lives of patients, whereas proponents claim this could give people access to life-saving treatments. 

See Senate Rejects Bill Criminalizing Doctors Who Aid Patient Suicide, Harrell & Nowak Law, Apr. 8, 2015. 

Special thanks to Sean Malseed for bringing this article to my attention.