Assisted Suicide In Montana
Assisted suicide has been "kind of legal" in Montana since 2009. I say "kind of" because it's somewhat of a loophole that demands the patient must perform the final act that results in death. There's a new bill out that seeks to stop that loophole and ban physician-assisted suicides.
I want to acknowledge that suicide devastates families and Montana ranks at the top of the list for suicides by state. This is not a subject I take lightly, but I see these assisted suicides in a different light. In most cases that I've seen, the family is involved and aware of this decision, the patient has no quality of life or intense pain to deal with. I think if I were in the situation, I would like to have the option to skip the pain and jump to the inevitable end.
I kind of think of it like this poor soul in the 9/11 photo. He knew he wouldn't survive the fall, but he chose the quick, "lights out" death of a fall rather than the pain of being cooked. You could argue that maybe he was hoping for a miracle and that he didn't intend to die, but I choose to believe he picked an easier death and I don't remember anyone criticizing the jumpers on 9/11.
How would you vote on this bill? Do we have the right to request death in a particular set of horrible circumstances?