Oregon Governor signs into law bill outlawing sale of “suicide kits”

The Register-Guard paper in Oregon reported yesterday that Governor John Kitzhaber on signed the bill into law that outlaws the sale of "suicide kits" in Oregon.

The paper stated:

Oregon is the first state to pass legislation outlawing the sale of “suicide kits” aimed at assisting or encouraging people to take their own lives. The new law went into effect immediately after Gov. John Kitzhaber signed the bill on Wednesday.

Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, introduced Senate Bill 376 in April after learning of a young Eugene man who used such a kit, mail-ordered from California, to commit suicide in December.

The new law makes it a Class B felony to “knowingly sell, or otherwise transfer for consideration, any substance or object to another person for the purpose of assisting the other person to commit suicide.” Violation of the law carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Nick Klonoski

The bill focused on the death of Oregon resident, Nick Klonoski (29) who lived with chronic depression and died of suicide after ordering a suicide kit from a group called GLADD in California.

Link to a previous article

This case is similar to the death of Nadia Kajouji in Canada, who died by suicide after William Melchert-Dinkel, a suicide predator, established an online relationship with her in order to convince her to commit suicide.

The law needs to protect vulnerable people from suicide websites and online suicide businesses in every state and country.