HELENA — Another bill that would make it illegal for doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients who ask for it has been endorsed by the House.
The House endorsed the bill 51-49 on second reading Thursday.
Under House Bill 477, “physician-assisted suicide” would become a crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $50,000 fine, or both.
In February, a similar bill narrowly failed in the House.
The Legislature has struggled to clarify that the practice is specifically legal or illegal since the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that nothing in state law prohibits physicians from giving aid in dying. The high court also said at the time that doctors could use a patient’s request for the medication as a defense against any criminal charges.