When was euthanasia legalized in montana

Access Campaigns When medical aid-in-dying laws are authorized, we work to implement the laws to ensure meaningful access. Ways to Give Our work relies on the generous gifts from our supporters. Leave a Legacy Legacy Giving is one of the most impactful ways to support us. Medical Aid in Dying in Montana. Sometimes called "assisted suicide" or "right to die" initiatives, these laws make it possible for terminally ill patients to use prescribed medication to end their lives peacefully rather than suffering a painful and protracted death.

The catalyst for greater national attention to this issue was year-old Brittany Maynard, a woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer who moved from California to Oregon to end her life in Maynard chose Oregon because California had not yet passed its aid-in-dying law, and Oregon was one of just a few states to allow terminally ill patients to legally end their lives. While several states—including California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont—have now passed death with dignity laws by voter referendum or through legislation, Montana has recognized a terminally ill patient's right to use prescribed life-ending medications through a court case, Baxter v.

In , the Montana Supreme Court heard the case of Robert Baxter, a retired truck driver diagnosed with terminal lymphocytic leukemia, who wanted the option of taking medication prescribed by his doctor to end his life. Baxter and his doctors challenged the application of Montana's homicide statutes to physicians who prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients.

The court ruled that:. Baxter v. Montana , Mont. This article first clarifies some confusing language related to death with dignity laws and then discusses the requirements for obtaining a prescription for life-ending medication under Baxter v. Many people still think of this process as "assisted suicide" or "physician assisted suicide. In fact, the Montana Supreme Court, in Baxter v. Montana , specifically notes that the state's "aiding or soliciting suicide" statute does not apply to a "specific situation in which a terminally ill patient seeks a means by which he can end his own incurable suffering.

Increasingly, health organizations are turning away from the term "suicide" to describe a terminally ill patient's choice to reduce the suffering of an inevitable death.

The phrase "aid in dying" is becoming a more accepted way to refer to this process. HB , which would have explicitly prohibited doctor-prescribed suicide, was introduced by Rep. Krayton Kerns. The bill passed in the House and was sent to the Senate. SB , which would have permitted Oregon-style doctor-prescribed suicide was introduced by Sen.

Dick Barrett. The bill failed. Senate bill no. Neither the Hinkle bill nor the Blewett bill received sufficient support for passage. Montana assisted-suicide bill draft. However the Legislature did not take action on the bill. Death with Dignity Legislative Tracker.

The Montana State House of Representatives Judiciary Committee narrowly passed the bill 10 to 9, and on February 14, the full Montana House of Representatives passed the bill 53 to 47 on second reading.

The State Senate voted the bill down 22 to 27 on April 5. In response to the Montana Supreme Court ruling, in , a Death with Dignity Act, SB , and a bill prohibiting aid in dying were introduced in the state legislature for the first time. Neither passed; the same result occurred in subsequent legislative sessions, in SB and SB