Baxter v. Montana
Encyclopedia
Baxter v. Montana, was a Montana Supreme Court
case, argued on September 2, 2009, and decided on December 31, 2009, that addressed the question of whether the state's constitution guaranteed terminally ill patients a right to lethal prescription medication from their physicians.
and Robert Baxter, a 76 year old truck driver from Billings, Montana
, who was dying of lymphocytic leukemia. The plaintiffs asked the court to establish a constitutional right "to receive and provide aid in dying
". The state argued that "the Constitution confers no right to aid in ending one’s life." Judge Dorothy McCarter, of Montana's First Judicial District Court, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on December 5, 2008, stating that the "constitutional rights of individual privacy and human dignity, taken together, encompass the right of a competent terminally-ill patient to die with dignity." Baxter died that same day.
The Montana Attorney General appealed the case to the state supreme court. Oral arguments were heard on September 2, 2009.
Amicus briefs filed on behalf of those asking the court to grant the constitutional right to receive/provide aid in dying include human rights groups , women's right groups , The American Medical Women's Association/American Medical Students Association , clergy , legal scholars , 31 Montana state legislators and bioethicists , among others.
Among the groups filing amicus briefs on behalf of the state are the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of the Family Research Council
, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Catholic Medical Association
.
The Montana Medical Association issued a statement opposing physician-assisted suicide, but has refused to file an amicus brief in the appeal.
condemned the lower court ruling, stating,
ruled in favor of Baxter. It stated that, while the state's Constitution did not guarantee a right to physician-assisted suicide, there was "nothing in Montana Supreme Court precedent or Montana statutes indicating that physician aid in dying is against public policy."
Montana Supreme Court
The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the Montana state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution...
case, argued on September 2, 2009, and decided on December 31, 2009, that addressed the question of whether the state's constitution guaranteed terminally ill patients a right to lethal prescription medication from their physicians.
Background of the case
The original lawsuit was brought by 4 Montana physicians (Stephen Speckart, C. Paul Loehnen, Lar Autio, and George Risi, Jr., M.D.s), Compassion & ChoicesCompassion & Choices
Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization in the United States working to improve patients' rights and choices at the end of life...
and Robert Baxter, a 76 year old truck driver from Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, who was dying of lymphocytic leukemia. The plaintiffs asked the court to establish a constitutional right "to receive and provide aid in dying
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
". The state argued that "the Constitution confers no right to aid in ending one’s life." Judge Dorothy McCarter, of Montana's First Judicial District Court, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on December 5, 2008, stating that the "constitutional rights of individual privacy and human dignity, taken together, encompass the right of a competent terminally-ill patient to die with dignity." Baxter died that same day.
The Montana Attorney General appealed the case to the state supreme court. Oral arguments were heard on September 2, 2009.
Amicus briefs filed on behalf of those asking the court to grant the constitutional right to receive/provide aid in dying include human rights groups , women's right groups , The American Medical Women's Association/American Medical Students Association , clergy , legal scholars , 31 Montana state legislators and bioethicists , among others.
Among the groups filing amicus briefs on behalf of the state are the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of the Family Research Council
Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Catholic Medical Association
Catholic Medical Association
The Catholic Medical Association is an organization of Catholic physician, dentists and health care professionals in the United States and Canada.The organization studies and holds conferences on topics that relate spirituality and health...
.
The Montana Medical Association issued a statement opposing physician-assisted suicide, but has refused to file an amicus brief in the appeal.
Controversy
Conservative lawyer Wesley J. SmithWesley J. Smith
Wesley J. Smith is a lawyer and an award-winning author, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center on Human Exceptionalism. He is also a lawyer and consultant for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, and a special consultant for the Center for Bioethics and...
condemned the lower court ruling, stating,
- Judges are becoming too arrogant for our good as a nation....Culture-rending changes in law and morality should not be decided undemocratically by promoting a judge's own ideology through wrenching and twisting constitutional terms to mean things that were not intended when they were enacted. www.lifenews.com/2009/01/09/bio-2692/ (accessed 2010-12-31).
Verdict
On Dec. 31, 2009, the Montana Supreme CourtMontana Supreme Court
The Montana Supreme Court is the highest court of the Montana state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution...
ruled in favor of Baxter. It stated that, while the state's Constitution did not guarantee a right to physician-assisted suicide, there was "nothing in Montana Supreme Court precedent or Montana statutes indicating that physician aid in dying is against public policy."
See also
- Not Dead Yet
- Compassion & ChoicesCompassion & ChoicesCompassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization in the United States working to improve patients' rights and choices at the end of life...
- Text of the Montana Supreme Court's decision