New Mexico court declares constitutional right to assisted suicide
January 15, 2014
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Invoking the state constitution, a New Mexico judge has declared that the state’s residents have a right to physician-assisted suicide.
“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,” said Judge Nan Nash.
In December, the state’s three bishops had issued a statement in which they said they “strongly oppose any possibility of the authorization of assisted suicide by the state.”
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Further information:
- NM Ruling Will Allow Doctors To Help Patients Die (AP)
- New Mexico Judge Affirms Right to ‘Aid in Dying’ (New York Times)
- Statement on Assisted Suicide (Archdiocese of Santa Fe)
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Posted by: jimr451 -
Jan. 16, 2014 7:00 AM ET USA
I find it ironic that this "fundamental right" is always tied to a caveat that you must be competant, terminally ill, and of course a panel of medical experts must "approve" your petition to kill yourself.... If this right is so fundamental, why so many restrictions? Because it's really not that fundamental after all. It's another result of a nuanced view of the dignity of every life at all stages.
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Posted by: feedback -
Jan. 15, 2014 6:09 PM ET USA
Basically what the judge means is, "this court cannot envision a right more fundamental or more integral to the safety and happiness of a person than the right to kill himself or herself." But with one's killing being "assisted" by other killer, who continues to stay alive after the killing, there are continued problems with the other killer's moral and legal standing, which could, in turn, adversely affect the co-killer's safety and happiness.
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Posted by: Defender -
Jan. 15, 2014 2:33 PM ET USA
It sure must get hot in the Badlands of New Mexico. What other excuse is there for such tortuous logic?
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Posted by: DrJazz -
Jan. 15, 2014 10:27 AM ET USA
How exactly is suicide integral to safety and happiness? Can anyone be sure that the dying person will be happy after death? And he definitely won't be unharmed, so just how will he be safe?
