{"id":355822,"date":"2016-04-04T10:46:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ability-fl-prod.internetbrands.com\/ability-law\/healthcare\/patient-rights\/is-there-a-constitutional-right-to-physician-assisted-suicide.html"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T15:08:00","slug":"is-there-a-constitutional-right-to-physician-assisted-suicide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/healthcare\/patient-rights\/is-there-a-constitutional-right-to-physician-assisted-suicide.html","title":{"rendered":"Is There a Constitutional Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Is There a Constitutional Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide?<\/h1>\n\n
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\n By Olivia Wathne, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Aviana Cooper, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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The U.S. Constitution does not recognize a right to physician\u2011assisted suicide, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that states may ban the practice under their authority to protect life. At the same time, the Court has affirmed a separate liberty interest in refusing medical treatment, which allows patients to decline life\u2011sustaining care even if doing so leads to death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A loved one with a terminal illness may wish to end their suffering through physician-assisted suicide. But the United States Constitution does not provide the right to physician-assisted suicide. The statutes governing whether doctors can administer treatment to assist with ending a life, often referred to as the “right to die” or “death with dignity”<\/a> laws, vary by state.<\/p>\n

A growing list of states have enacted laws granting the right to die. These states have determined that the right to die is central to an individual’s right to personal autonomy and bodily integrity.<\/p>\n

This should not be confused with\u00a0euthanasia.\u00a0Euthanasia is when another individual takes the patient’s life. Physician-assisted suicide legally requires the terminally ill person to self-administer the drugs that end their life.<\/p>\n

This article explains patients’ rights in relation to end-of-life issues and physician-assisted suicide.<\/p>\n

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Whether physician\u2011assisted suicide is legal depends entirely on state death with dignity laws. A healthcare attorney<\/a> near you can help you understand the options available where you live.<\/p>\n

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The Right to Refuse Medical Treatment<\/h2>\n

The U.S. Constitution<\/a> guarantees many individual rights of citizens and legal residents. These rights include free speech, religion, and due process. Under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, a U.S. citizen cannot lose their life, liberty, or property without notice and the opportunity to be heard.<\/p>\n

In a famous court decision,\u00a0Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health<\/a>, the United States\u00a0Supreme Court established that patients have a liberty interest in refusing medical\u00a0treatment. Even\u00a0if that refusal would lead to the patient’s death. But in a later case, the Supreme Court held in\u00a0Washington v. Glucksberg<\/a> that the due process clause does not allow medical intervention to assist terminally ill patients in ending their lives.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to clarify your wishes on\u00a0end-of-life decisions and medical care is to spell it out in a\u00a0living will or advance directive<\/a>.\u00a0Justice Sandra Day\u00a0O’Connor emphasized the importance of written advance directives in a concurring opinion in Cruzan. Advance directives inform the medical staff about whether you want life-sustaining treatment or palliative care at the end of your life. An extra step you may take is to appoint a trusted\u00a0person\u00a0to be your decision-maker through a\u00a0durable power of attorney for health care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Right to Die: A Brief Legal History<\/h2>\n

Physician-assisted suicide laws and lower court battles are steeped in politics, public health, and\u00a0religious arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to rule that the right to die is a fundamental right under the Constitution. But\u00a0it stopped short of declaring the practice illegal. This makes it a state issue.<\/p>\n

In 1997, the Supreme Court issued two decisions on the same day on the right to die: Washington v. Glucksberg<\/a>, and\u00a0Vacco v. Quill<\/a>. The two cases ruled that both a Washington state law and a New York state law banning assisted suicide did not violate the Due Process or\u00a0Equal Protection Clauses.\u00a0The decisions were both written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. They overturned federal courts of appeals holdings from Washington and New York.<\/p>\n

The Court held that the government’s interest in protecting life and preventing intentional killing<\/a> outweighed the patient’s interest in the liberty to choose to die. But the Court ruled that refusing life-saving medical aid, including nutrition and hydration, differs from asking a physician to end a patient’s life. The rulings gave the green light for states to determine the legality of physician-assisted suicide and the right to die.<\/p>\n

State Death-With-Dignity Laws<\/h2>\n

A growing number of states<\/a> have enacted laws that protect a patient’s right to die. In those states, doctors may provide lethal doses of certain drugs at the request of their patients.<\/p>\n

But patients control the act of administering those doses. Most state right-to-die laws require the patient to ask their doctor several times before a doctor can prescribe lethal drugs. They also require patients to have six or fewer months to live, among other regulations.<\/p>\n

In 1997, Oregon enacted the\u00a0Oregon Death with Dignity Act<\/a>, the first in the United States. Soon after, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales filed a lawsuit. Gonzales argued that the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibited physicians from prescribing controlled substances that would assist with hastening the death of terminally ill patients. The Supreme Court sided with Oregon.<\/p>\n

Below are a few examples of states with physician-assisted suicide laws on the books:<\/p>\n