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LC 4194

Prohibit consent as a defense for physician assisted suicide

2025 Regular Session

Montana bill would eliminate consent as a legal defense for physician-assisted suicide, effectively repealing the state's existing Death with Dignity law.

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Bill Summary · LC 4194

Legislative bill overview

LC 4194 would eliminate consent as a legal defense in physician-assisted suicide cases in Montana. This directly contradicts Montana's current law (Montana's Death with Dignity Act), which explicitly permits physicians to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients who provide informed consent. The bill appears designed to effectively prohibit the practice entirely by removing the consent mechanism that currently protects physicians from criminal liability.

Why is this important

Montana is one of only a handful of states with legal medical aid in dying. This bill would represent a significant reversal of established Montana law and would criminalize an end-of-life practice that patients, physicians, and voters have explicitly supported (via ballot measure). The change would affect terminally ill individuals seeking options at life's end and physicians providing this care.

Potential points of contention

  • Voter-approved law: Montana's Death with Dignity law was approved by voters in 1997; reversing it without direct voter input raises questions about legislative authority over popular mandates
  • Constitutional concerns: Removing consent as a defense could raise due process and privacy challenges given prior Montana Supreme Court rulings protecting medical decision-making autonomy
  • Medical ethics: The proposal conflicts with some physicians' professional judgment about end-of-life care while aligning with others' moral objections to the practice
  • Patient autonomy vs. state interest: Core tension between individual choice for terminally ill patients and state interest in preserving life

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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