Today Americans United for Life (AUL) filed an amicus curiae brief before the Montana Supreme Court on behalf of 28 bi-partisan Montana Senators and Representatives, arguing that there is no right to assisted suicide under the State’s constitution.
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of AUL stated, “It is appalling that the district court has attempted to unilaterally manufacture a state constitutional right to assisted suicide – a right that has no basis in the history of our nation. Instead, Montana has compelling interests in protecting all human life and in preventing the abuses inherent in assisted suicide.”
In December 2008, a state district court ruled that, under the Montana Constitution, individuals have a right to suicide, and a right to assistance in committing suicide. However, the judge did not impose any restrictions on the practice, even leaving room for the active euthanasia of patients by their physicians.
“The district court held that a person’s constitutional rights are ‘defeated’ if she does not receive assistance in dying. This means that anyone—even a patient who cannot administer lethal drugs herself—is entitled to have a physician kill them,” observed Mailee Smith, AUL Staff Counsel.
She continued, “What’s even worse is that there is no requirement that another person witness the suicide request or that there be written documentation of the request and the basis for it. Physicians can unilaterally decide that their patients want to die, with no paper trail to hold them accountable. That is not assisted suicide—that is euthanasia.”
AUL worked in conjunction with the Montana Attorney General’s office in coordinating amicus curiae briefs supporting the State’s prohibition of assisted suicide. AUL’s brief can be accessed here.
