1. The US Supreme Court Upheld Constitutionality
In 1997, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of a statute prohibiting assisted suicide under the United States Constitution. In Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 705-6, 117 S.Ct. 2258, 2261 (1997), the Supreme Court stated:
"The question presented . . . is whether Washington's prohibition against 'caus[ing]' or 'aid[ing] a suicide offends the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We hold that it does not."
2. Montana's Constitution Does Not Include a "Right to Die"
Montana's Constitution was adopted in 1972. Archived documents show that during the Constitutional Convention, a proposed right to die was considered and rejected.[1]
With this history, there is no right to die in the Montana Constitution.[2]
3. The Montana Supreme Court's Constitutional Ruling
In Baxter v. State, 354 Mont. 234, 224 P.3d 1211 (2009), the Supreme Court of Montana vacated a district court decision holding that there is a Constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide under the Montana Constitution.[3] The Supreme Court stated: "The District Court's ruling on the constitutional issues is vacated . . ."[4]
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[1] Margaret Dore, "Montana's Constitution does not Include a 'Right to Die,'" October 14, 2012, available at http://www.montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/2012/10/montanas-constitution-does-not-include.html
[2] Id.
[3] The District Court's Decision and Order, dated December 5, 2008, page 19, lines 10 to 15, states: "The Court concludes that a competent terminally ill patient has the constitutional right to die with dignity. This right . . . necessarily incorporates the assistance of a doctor, as part of a doctor-patient relationship, so that the patient can obtain drugs that he can take to end his own life, if and when he so determines." (Available at http://maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/district-court-decision-and-order-page-19.pdf ).
[4] Baxter, 354 Mont. at 251, ¶ 51.