Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Statement Against The Texas vs. Kennedy Lawsuit

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recognizes “Medical Aid In Dying” as one endpoint of society withholding care and opportunities from disabled and/or terminally ill people. Hence, we oppose assisted suicide and we oppose conditions that make assisted suicide more likely to happen or contribute to a climate where assisted suicide is viewed as reasonable and desirable.

Therefore, we oppose the Texas vs. Kennedy lawsuit, the latest version of which was filed on January 23rd, 2026. The lawsuit is asking SCOTUS to eliminate the Final Rule, a set of critical updates to the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that were passed in 2024, on the premise that the rule’s requirement that states implement better community supports to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of disabled people is “burdensome.” The success of this lawsuit would undermine efforts to oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide.

First, the Final Rule contains Section 84.56(a), which forbids doctors from making “quality of life” decisions that cause disabled people’s deaths. Hence, that provision creates a strong regulatory bulwark against the legalization of assisted suicide.

The lawsuit contends that the Final Rule’s requirement that states implement additional community support to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of disabled persons are “burdensome.” Hence, success of this lawsuit would contribute to situations in which institutionalized people with life-limiting conditions may feel coerced into assisted suicide.

The elimination of the Final Rule’s requirement that medical equipment be accessible to people with disabilities will also undermine efforts to prevent assisted suicide. Inaccessible medical equipment contributes to situations where people with life-limiting conditions feel steered towards assisted suicide.

Accordingly, we urge the attorney generals of Texas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana and South Dakota to drop the Texas vs. Kennedy lawsuit, and for HHS not to adopt its proposed policy changes. The lawsuit’s goals undermine both disabled people’s dignity and efforts to fight euthanasia and assisted suicide in the United States.

Note: Readers living in the aforementioned states who wish to contact their attorney generals asking them to drop the Texas vs. Kennedy lawsuit can find contact information here.