Action Alert: A Tale of Two States. Montana and Delaware.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Montana may once again prohibit assisted suicide.

Montana was the third State to permit assisted suicide in America. In 2009, the Baxter court decision declared that Montanans have a right to assisted suicide. 

The Baxter decision was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court where it was decided that there is no right to assisted suicide in Montana but the Court found a "defense of consent" meaning a Montana physician who assists a suicide must prove that there was consent. 

On February 7, The Montana Senate voted 29 to 20, to pass Senate Bill 136 a bill that legislatively declares that there is no defense of consent in Montana.

Article: Montana bill that prohibits assisted suicide passes in the Senate (Link).

On March 24, the Montana House Judiciary Committee passed SB 136 by a vote of 11 to 9. SB 136 will go to a full vote in the Montana House. If the bill passes, Governor Greg Gianforte has agreed to sign the bill. Montana could become the first state to reverse access to assisted suicide.

We need everyone to contact members of the Montana House and urge them to support Senate Bill 136. There are 100 members of the Montana House (Montana House Contact List).

Delaware may legalize assisted suicide.

Delaware Legislature

On March 18, Delaware assisted suicide Bill HB 140 passed in the State House by a vote of 21 to 17. HB 140 will now move to the Delaware State Senate.

In 2024, an identical assisted suicide bill passed in the State House by a vote of 21 to 16 and then passed in the Senate by a vote of 11 to 10. Last September Delaware Governor John Carney votoed the assisted suicide bill, saving Delaware citizens from assisted suicide.

Governor Carney completed his term as Governor. The new Delaware Governor, Matt Meyer has stated that he supports assisted suicide.

Therefore Delaware assisted suicide Bill HB 140 must be defeated in the Senate. 

We need everyone to contact every member of the Delaware State Senate and urge them to vote NO to assisted suicide Bill HB 140. There are 21 members of the Delaware Senate. (Delaware State Senator Contact List).

Some good arguments opposing HB 140 include:

People with eating disorders are dying by assisted suicide. 

An article by Jennifer Brown that was published in the Colorado Sun on March 14, 2022 reported that Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, an internal medicine doctor who specializes in eating disorders published a paper on how she was prescribing assisted suicide for people with Anorexia Nervosa in Colorado. Gaudiani approved assisted suicide for Anorexia Nervosa by falsely defining the condition as terminal.

Nearly every state that has legalized assisted suicide, has expanded their law. 

HB 140 claims to be a "tightly worded" bill. The assisted suicide lobby uses a "bait and switch" technique to sell assisted suicide with a "tightly worded bill" and if the bill passes they pressure the state to expand their laws or force them to expand their law with a court case later. (Article Link).

Assisted suicide creates two tier medicine

Some suicidal people are offered suicide prevention while others are provided assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is inherently discriminatory.

We believe in caring for people not killing them.

Assisted suicide is an act of providing a poison cocktail to someone who is living with suicidal ideation, often related to their health concerns. 

 

Assisted suicide constitutes killing. We believe in caring for people at their time of need.

Assisted suicide is not about autonomy but rather it medically abandons a person to death.