skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, September 9, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

AZ has over 150 electric school buses, could more be on the way? Three ex-Memphis officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols to stand trial; FL advocates highlight philanthropy's role in supporting Black maternal health; Indigenous water protectors protest the aging pipeline.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

New polling shows Harris struggles with male voters, while Trump faces challenges with female voters. Tomorrow's debate is important, with the race tight, and a New Hampshire candidate is under fire for ties to a big corporate landlord.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural counties have higher traffic death rates compared to urban, factions have formed around Colorado's proposed Dolores National Monument, and a much-needed Kentucky grocery store is using a federal grant to slash future utility bills.

MT Bill Aims to End Medical Aid-in-Dying Options

play audio
Play

Monday, January 23, 2023   

A bill in the Montana Legislature would roll back access to medical aid-in-dying options at the end of someone's life - access that has been guaranteed in Montana for more than a decade.

LC 1043 would prohibit consent as a defense for physicians who assist a person with a terminal illness at the end of their life. Callie Riley is the Northwest regional advocacy manager of Compassion & Choices, an organization that supports medical aid-in-dying access.

"The practical effect is that it would open physicians and other medical professionals to charges of murder," said Riley, "if they participated in medical aid in dying at the request of a qualified terminally ill patient."

Riley said identical legislation was introduced in the Montana Legislature in 2019 and 2021, but was defeated both times. The 2023 bill has been drafted, but no further action on it is scheduled yet.

Opponents of medical aid in dying question the process of deciding the competency of people who are making end-of-life decisions. Some also oppose it because of their religious views.

Riley said a person who opts to use prescribed medication to end their own suffering is an individual choice, and her group believes allowing this access is trusting people on their end-of-life journey.

"We believe as an organization that people know that better than, in this case, politicians in Helena based on their own values, their beliefs, their priorities," said Riley. "What kind of care do they want, and not want, at the end of life?"

Medical aid in dying has been accessible to Montanans since a state Supreme Court decision in 2009, in which the court sided with a terminally ill U.S. Marine veteran. It is authorized in nine other states and the District of Columbia as well.




Disclosure: Compassion & Choices contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Senior Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Solar energy costs far less than fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency finds utility-level solar costs about $20 per unit less to produce than natural gas. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Although most Virginians support and prefer solar energy, misinformation is keeping more of it from being built. Several counties and cities have …


Social Issues

play sound

A common narrative suggests that deeply polarized American voters always support their party's candidates, but a new study suggests otherwise in …

Environment

play sound

By Bridget Huber for the Food and Environment Reporting Network.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Maine News Service reporting for the Solutions…


Renewal Village's strong partnerships, including with the the Colorado Division of Housing and Adams County, helped tap four million federal dollars to create a new home for families experiencing homelessness. (Galatas)

Social Issues

play sound

Renewal Village, a converted Clarion Inn featuring 215 units of permanent supportive and transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness…

Environment

play sound

Indigenous water protectors and allies met at Michigan's Straits of Mackinac last week, to spotlight the dangers of the 71-year-old Line 5, deemed …

The median home price in New Hampshire reached $525,000 in 2024, a nearly 13% increase from a year earlier. Rents in the state are up an average 45% since the pandemic. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Record-high home prices are a top concern for New Hampshire voters and could impact the outcome of this year's gubernatorial race. All the …

Social Issues

play sound

Funding is coming to a program supporting students from low-income families in Washington state who want to go on to college or postsecondary educatio…

Social Issues

play sound

Drawing attention to a housing option that could make it easier for older Nebraskans to "age in place" is one of the goals of an AARP Community Challe…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021