New Mexico Appeals Court: No Physician Aid-in-Dying

The New Mexico Court of Appeals issued its opinion in August in the case of Morris, et al v.Brandenburg. The trial court had previously ruled that the statute in question, N.M. § 30-2-4 was unconstitutional.  The appellate court determined that "[t]he question presented is whether this statute may constitutionally be applied to criminalize a willing physician's act of providing a lethal dose of a prescribed medication at the request of a mentally competent, terminally ill patient who wishes a peaceful end of life (aid in dying) as an alternative to one potentially marked by suffering, pain, and/or the loss of autonomy and dignity." id. at ¶ (1). The trial court had found a fundamental liberty interest to have physician aid-in-dying under the state constitution, but the appellate court disagreed. id.

Aid in dying, the medical concept of dying with autonomy and dignity, is a relatively recent human phenomena and deserves appropriate public evaluation and consideration. However, as a new legal consideration, it must also be carefully weighed against longstanding societal principles such as preventing a person from taking the life of another; preventing suicide; preventing assisted suicide; promoting the integrity, healing, and life preserving principles of the medical profession; protecting vulnerable groups from unwanted pressure to considering aid in dying as the best alternative to other medical options; and promoting human life where aid in dying is not the appropriate medical option despite a patient's request for its use... The recent advances in life-prolonging medical care and the public acceptance of aid in dying in some states has not diminished the other longstanding societal principles and concerns regarding intentional killing, the dying process, the preservation of life, and the basic life saving principles embedded in the medical profession.

Id. at ¶ 37 (citations omitted). The appellate court goes on to note that the dying process itself and the resulting death are not included in the state's constitutional enumerated rights and " can only qualify as inferences that might exist within the categories of liberty or happiness." id. at ¶ 41. The court also had concerns regarding the narrow application of the right as it would only apply to certain citizens who are terminally ill, death within a certain time, etc.  id. at ¶¶ 45-47 After reviewing the remaining arguments of the plaintiffs, the majority ruled. 

We reverse the district court's ruling that aid in dying is a fundamental liberty interest under the New Mexico Constitution. Accordingly, we reverse the district court's order permanently enjoining the State from enforcing Section 30-2-4. We affirm the district court's determination that, for statutory construction purposes, Section 30-2-4 prohibits aid in dying. Separate from the Concurring Opinion, I would also remand this case to the district court to make any further findings it deems necessary, to conduct both an intermediate scrutiny and rational basis review of Section 30-2-4, as well as dispose of Plaintiffs' remaining claims.

Id.  at ¶ 54. The opinion includes concurring and dissenting opinions.