A ruling in the Second District court of New Mexico may make physician assisted suicide legal in that state. In her ruling, Judge Nan Nash stated that allowing doctors to provide fatal drugs to terminally ill patients was well within the confines of the New Mexico state Constitution. She wrote, “this court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to choose aid in dying.”
The case was filed by Aja Riggs, a cancer patient, age 50, from Santa Fe, NM. She was joined by two of her doctors as plaintiffs, Doctors Katherine Morris and Aroop Mangalik. Riggs filed the suit because she wants the option to end her own life if she becomes terminally ill. Although her cancer is currently in remission, she stated, “most Americans want to die peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, not die in agony in a hospital. I feel the same way. If my cancer returns and I face intolerable suffering, I want the option to cut it short, and to die peacefully at home.” Riggs and her physicians were also supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the New Mexico Psychological Association, and a right-to-die group called Compassion & Choices.
With this ruling, New Mexico isn’t necessarily guaranteed physician assisted suicide will become legal. This was a lawsuit in a district court, so this may only apply to that district. The state Attorney General is still deciding whether or not to appeal this case to the New Mexico Supreme Court.
If physician assisted suicide becomes legal as a result of this court ruling, it will make New Mexico the fifth state to do so. Oregon first legalized it in 1997. In recent years, Washington, Montana, and Vermont followed suit.
Such laws allow physicians to provide their terminally ill patients with fatal drugs without fear of prosecution.
When the idea of physician assisted suicide first became prevalent, critics were worried that terminal patients would be pressured to end their lives by doctors or families. But almost two decades later, Oregon has been able to avoid that problem by instituting multiple safeguards before end of life aid is even considered. A terminally ill patient must have documentation that their illness is terminal, and has to go through many psychological evaluations. In order for a patient to qualify for physician assisted suicide, they also need to have made multiple oral and written assertions. Dr. Katherine Morris, one of the plaintiffs in Riggs’s case is a New Mexico oncologist who used to practice in Oregon. She believes that patients have not been pressured stating, “we haven’t seen the slippery slope some people worried about.”
The New Mexico decision drew very different opinions. Advocates for physician assisted suicide applauded the progress. The legal director of the New Mexico ACLU branch, Laura Schauer Ives stated, “New Mexicans, both healthy and sick, now enjoy the comfort and peace of mind that come with knowing they can prevent a prolonged, agonized dying process at the end of life.” On the other hand, other organizations, particularly religious organizations, are responding with distress to the situation, pointing out that the sanctity of life needs to be respected, and that it’s not a physician’s place to make decisions regarding life.
It does seem like the concept of physician assisted suicide has become more popular in recent years, given that three of the four states who have legalized it have done so in the last 5 years. While it’s in the spotlight less than others, the argument does go hand in hand with other social issues. The sanctity of life is a popular topic, and as more states move more towards legalizing it, I bet we’ll see it take center stage in politics in coming years.
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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.
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