Montana Becomes the Third State to Allow Physician Aid in Dying

The following is taken from Kristine S. Knaplund, Montana Becomes Third U.S. State To Allow Physician Aid In Dying, which was written for the February 2010 RPTE eReport, an electronic report issued by the ABA Section of Real Property, Trusts & Estates:

On December 31, 2009, the Montana Supreme Court issued its decision in Baxter v. State of Montana, 2009 MT 449, regarding physician aid in dying (PAD). While the lower court had found a state constitutional right for such aid, a majority of the Supreme Court expressly declined to reach the constitutional issue. Rather, the majority found that the consent of a terminally ill, competent adult to lethal medication would protect the physician from liability for homicide. Montana joins Oregon and Washington in legalizing PAD, but is the only state to do so by judicial decision.

According to Knaplund, the Montana decision leaves unanswered questions about the use of physician assistance in dying, such as whether residents of other states could travel to Montana to receive physician aid in dying, whether the death resulting of the aid would be deemed a suicide, and whether a physician may aid a person who is incapable of administering the medicine.  

For more information on the Montana Supreme Court decision, see Kristine S. Knaplund, Montana Becomes Third U.S. State To Allow Physician Aid In Dying, RPTE eReport (Feb. 2010).