Bill seeks to charge doctors assisting in suicides

Montana lawmakers are considering a bill that would criminalize physicians for helping terminally-ill patients die.

House Bill 536 aims to make assisted suicides an act “against public policy.” It would determine physicians aren’t protected against a homicide charge even if a patient gives consent to die.

Bill Sponsor Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, said allowing doctors to assist in deaths is a step backward for a state with one of the nation’s highest suicide rates.

“Our youth are needlessly sacrificing their lives due to many factors,” he said “… how can a young person not be confused when they’re told their lives are valuable and worth saving and they hear others cry out for freedom in ending their lives.”

He spoke in front of the state House Judiciary Committee during the bill’s hearing Friday morning.

A 2009 state Supreme Court decision protects doctors from prosecution if they assist in a patient’s death. The state’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Act allows an individual “of sound mind” who is 18 years or older to be able to ask their doctors to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment when he or she is in a terminal condition.

However, Montana statute does not provide a framework for doctor-assisted deaths.

In response to the ruling, proponents and opponents have since worked to introduce legislation that would solidify that state’s stance on the act.

A Death with Dignity Act and a bill prohibiting aid in dying were introduced in the Montana Legislature in 2011. Neither passed.

Similar bills were created and failed in the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions.

During Friday’s hearing, some supporters of the bill said physician-assisted deaths could be used as a way for the government and insurers to save money.

Opponents stated it was a human right for individuals to choose how much suffering they wanted to face through a terminal disease or illness.

Bradley Williams with Montanans Against Assisted Suicide said it was time for the state’s lawmakers to take a stance on the issue.

He said he worried the act could be used against aging members in society and people with disabilities due to a lack of oversight.

“If you’re a libertarian or fly under the choice banner, read the language of the flawed laws to discern, the law can easily be manipulated wrongly against us, allowing exploitation of us all,” he said.

Roberta King, of Missoula, said her father, Robert Baxter, was the plaintiff in the case that brought medical aid in dying to Montana. She said he died the same day the court ruled in his favor.

“I would urge you not to take away the choice my father fought so hard to gain for dying Montanans,” she said.

She described a proud man and former Marine who loved the outdoors.

“His whole life, he liked to do things the right way,” King said. “His suffering and death were much more painful and difficult than they had to be, and he never got the right to decide for himself how much he was going to endure.” Tschida said while some people described “wonderful deaths” through physicians helping their patients die, he still considers it a homicide.

“In some ways, these deaths might seem less messy, more sterile,” he said.

“...But the fact of the issue is simple and clear, no one should be allowed to end the life of another with immunity in respective to their position, role or station in life.”

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.