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Legislating Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide is currently legal in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington as well as in the District of Columbia. Montana allows for a defense against criminal liability regarding assisted suicide, that consent could be used as a defense according to a decision by the state Supreme Court.
Assisted suicide is not health care. Whether it be euthanasia, assisted suicide, aid in dying or death with dignity all seek the same result, to allow for people to be killed by medical personnel. The details of the laws may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the sole purpose is the take the life of another by administering drugs to end that patient’s life.
Proponents of assisted suicide and euthanasia have introduced bills in various states for the 2025 legislative session.
The list below is not exhaustive but presents information on the more active states that have had bills introduced in their legislatures to either legalize or expand assisted suicide.
Alex Schadenberg of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition covers this topic in the United States and abroad. See his article on the expanding assisted suicide laws.
