Thursday, February 8, 2018

Utah House passes bill criminalizing assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition


On February 7, the Utah house passed HB 86, a bill that criminalizes assisted suicide by placing it within the Utah manslaughter statute.

Utah was one of several states that did not have an assisted suicide law.

HB 86 was introduced in response to the horrific death of a teenage girl:

It’s what one Utah lawmaker calls a “sick case” — a teenager is accused of encouraging a friend to kill herself, buying her the materials to do so and then filming the 16-year-old girl’s suicide on a cellphone. 
After the girl’s May 2017 death, prosecutors charged 18-year-old Tyerell Przybycien with first-degree felony murder.
Representative Michael McKell, amended HB 86 to deal with the critics concerns that the bill may criminalize physicians or family members who accidentally overdosed someone.

Bill HB 86 clearly defines the act of assisted suicide. The substituted version of HB 86 was passed by the House on a 51-18 vote even though Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D) who has introduced a bill to legalize assisted suicide in Utah, attempted to derail the bill.

1 comment:

  1. It never ceases to amaze me how the people who are promoting Assisted Suicide manage to twist words to their own benefit.
    'Accidentally overdosing' someone? How much of a cop-out is that?
    Full marks to Utah for behaving responsibly and protecting people's rights.

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