HELENA – Doctors in Montana have helped at least one patient commit suicide since a court ruled it wasn’t illegal last year, advocates said Friday. But the state has no way of knowing how many others there may be, who is doing it or even how it is being done.
Montana became the third state to allow physician-assisted suicide when the state Supreme Court ruled Dec. 31 there was nothing in Montana law preventing it.
The ruling opened the door for doctors in the state to prescribe the necessary drugs to mentally competent, terminally ill patients, saying that doing so would be a defense against homicide charges.
But the court did not determine whether the Montana Constitution guarantees the right to physician-assisted suicide, and nothing in the ruling would prevent authorities from filing charges.
Advocacy group Compassion & Choices said doctors had performed at least one assisted suicide since the ruling. Barbara Coombs Lee, the group’s president, said they are not releasing the number of patients who have received the drugs needed to commit suicide to protect their privacy, and to prevent investigations into the cases.
While Oregon and Washington have laws outlining guidelines for doctors and reporting procedures, Montana authorities say they have no legal authority to regulate the practice.