{"id":241215,"date":"2021-03-13T13:41:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T19:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=241215"},"modified":"2021-03-11T17:05:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T23:05:28","slug":"montana-bill-state-constitution-personhood-fertilization-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/montana-bill-state-constitution-personhood-fertilization-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana once again fails to close its odd assisted suicide loophole"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A court case from 2009 has left Montana with an assisted suicide problem, and state lawmakers keep trying to fix it.\u00a0<\/span>On March 1st, <\/span>Senate Bill 290<\/span><\/a> came up for a final vote but fell short by just one vote from advancing to a second reading. The bill would have allowed physicians prescribing an overdose of lethal drugs for patients to be charged with homicide.\u00a0According to the Associated Press<\/a>, some version of the bill has been advanced every year for a decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year was expected to be different because Montana\u2019s governor supported the proposed legislation, according to Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, who added that she hopes the measure will protect two of her grandchildren who have been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. \u201cWe are committed to walking with them through the hard days. I do not want you to send them the message when they have a tough day that suicide is an acceptable option,\u201d she said, according to the AP.<\/span><\/p>\n

The legislation was drawn up to close what some see as a \u201cloophole\u201d opened by the court case <\/span>Baxter v. Montana<\/span><\/a><\/em>, which shifted the blame for the act to the patient\u2019s consent. Although assisted suicide is not explicitly legal in the state \u2014 there exists no statute claiming its legality \u2014 the state supreme court decision claimed that no state law <\/span>prohibits<\/span><\/i> the practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Montana bill would amend state constitution to say personhood begins at fertilization<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opponents claimed that killing oneself with the aid of a doctor and suicide are different if the patient is terminally ill. \u201cMedical aid in dying is not suicide. These patients are not depressed \u2014 they are dying. There is a very big difference,\u201d said Dr. Colette Kirchhoff, a hospice and palliative care physician from Bozeman. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to alleviate suffering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Montana has one of the <\/span>highest rates of suicide<\/span><\/a> in the nation. The bill\u2019s sponsor, Carl Glimm, referenced this when introducing the bill. \u201cEvery session this body takes up legislation and spending bills to try and curb the suicide frequency in our veterans, our youth, and our Native American populations,\u201d Glimm said, according to <\/span>MTN News<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThis bill is an opportunity to send a consistent message about suicide from young to old, to healthy to sick that it\u2019s not a good option.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Matt Brower, Executive Director of the Montana Catholic Conference, <\/span>gave testimony<\/span><\/a> on the bill, calling it \u201ccontrary to our commitment to the common good,” noting, “<\/span>If we as a society say not only that it is ok for a population of our state to take their own lives but that, with the state\u2019s approval, those who assist them can do so with impunity, what incentive is there for the state and society to put resources into hospice, palliative care, pain management, and mental health services?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur law ought to make clear that our law prohibits physician-assisted suicide,\u201d\u00a0 he added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A court case from 2009 has left Montana with an assisted suicide problem, and state lawmakers keep trying to fix it.\u00a0On March 1st, Senate Bill 290 came up for a final vote but fell short by just one vote from advancing to a second reading. The bill would have allowed physicians prescribing an overdose of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":193742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMontana once again fails to close its odd assisted suicide loophole<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Montana bill that would allow physicians who prescribe patients an overdose of lethal drugs to be charged with homicide failed to advance.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/montana-bill-state-constitution-personhood-fertilization-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Montana once 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