Top Massachusetts court rules against overturning law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled earlier this week that the commonwealth’s constitution does not support physician-assisted suicide. The Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, made a statement acknowledging the complexities of end of life care and believes that the Legislature is the appropriate body to take on the public policy issue. AG Healey has said she supports legislative action to allow medical aid in dying, so long as safeguards are put in place to protect patients and providers.

The state legislature has seen dozens of bills attempting to legalize physician-assisted suicide, however, none have succeeded. The court also noted that in 2012, voters saw a ballot measure that would have permitted terminally ill citizens to obtain a legal dose of drugs, but voters did not endorse the issue at that time.

The case has been moving through Massachusetts courts since 2016 when Dr. Roger Kligler, a retired physician with stage 4 prostate cancer, was joined by another physician to fight the idea that assisting terminally ill patients with ending their lives would result in manslaughter charges. Kligler was unhappy with the courts decision on Monday. “I will continue urging lawmakers to respect the bodily autonomy of dying Massachusetts residents by passing the End of Life Options Act,” he said.

For more information see Jon Brown “Top Massachusetts court rules against overturning law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide”, Fox News, December 20, 2022.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2022/12/top-massachusetts-court-rules-against-overturning-law-prohibiting-physician-assisted-suicide.html