Dear Editor:
I am a Montana State Senator. I disagree with your article, "Redefining Physicians' Role in Assisted Dying," claiming that assisted suicide is legal in Montana. At the very least, Montana law is unclear.
Last year, Senate Bill 167, which would have legalized assisted suicide in Montana, failed. This leaves assisted suicide governed by a Montana Supreme Court case, Baxter v. Montana. An analysis by attorneys Greg Jackson and Matt Bowman describes Baxter as follows:
"The Montana Supreme Court s assisted-suicide decision . . . didn't even 'legalize' assisted-suicide. . . . After Baxter, assisted-suicide continues to carry both criminal and civil liability risks for any doctor, institution, or lay person involved."[1]
Since then, competing articles have appeared in the official Montana State Bar publication disputing whether Baxter legalized assisted suicide.[2] The editor's headline states: "Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument." [3]
Correct reporting would be that assisted suicide is not legal in Montana and/or hotly disputed. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Senator Greg Hinkle
Thompson Falls, MT
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[1] Greg Jackson, Esq., and Matt Bowman, Esq., "Analysis of Implications of the Baxter Case on Potential Criminal Liability," Montanans Against Assisted Suicide & For Living with Dignity, April 2010, available at http://montanansagainstassistedsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Analysis-of-Baxter.pdf
[2] Senator Anders Blewett (pro article), Senator Jim Shockley and Margaret Dore (con article), "The aid-in-dying debate: Can a physician legally help a patient die in Montana? Court ruling still leaves the issue open to argument," The Montana Lawyer, November 2011, available at http://maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/montana-lawyer-pro-con-articles-nov-2011.pdf[3] Id.