|
''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.〔Johnson, Kirk. (Montana Court to Rule on Assisted Suicide Case ), ''The New York Times'', August 31, 2009〕 The Montana Supreme Court ruled that while the right to physician-assisted dying is not guaranteed under Montana State Constitution, neither legal precedent nor the state's statuses deem such assistance against public policy, i.e. illegal. ==Background of the case== The original lawsuit was brought by four Montana physicians (Stephen Speckart, C. Paul Loehnen, Lar Autio, and George Risi, Jr., M.D.s), Compassion & Choices and Robert Baxter, a seventy-six-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".〔Original plaintiff's filing (Baxter v Montana )〕 The state argued that "the Constitution confers no right to aid in ending one’s life." 〔Johnson, Kirk. (Montana Court to Rule on Assisted Suicide Case ), ''The New York Times'', August 31, 2009〕 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."〔Montana District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter, decision to grant motion for summary judgment ()〕 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.〔Billings Gazette: (Personal choice vs. public interest: ‘Right to die’ argued ), 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,〔(Human Rights Groups Amicus for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 women's rights groups,〔(Women's Rights Groups Amicus for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 The American Medical Women's Association/American Medical Students Association,〔(American Medical Women's Association/American Medical Students Association Amicus Brief for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 clergy,〔(Clergy Amicus Brief for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 legal scholars,〔()〕 thirty-one Montana state legislators 〔(Montana Legislators Amicus Brief for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 and bioethicists,〔(Bioethicists Amicus Brief for plaintiffs/appellees )〕 among others. Among the groups filing amicus briefs on behalf of the state were the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of the Family Research Council, Americans United for Life, 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 refused to file an ''amicus brief'' in the appeal. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Baxter v. Montana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|