609.215 SUICIDE.

    Subdivision 1. Aiding suicide.

Whoever intentionally advises, encourages, or assists
another in taking the other's own life
may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 15 years
or to payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both.

    Subd. 2. Aiding attempted suicide.

Whoever intentionally advises, encourages, or assists
another who attempts but fails to take the other's own life
may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than seven years
or to payment of a fine of not more than $14,000, or both.

    Subd. 3. Acts or omissions not considered aiding suicide or aiding attempted suicide.

(a) A health care provider, as defined in section 145B.02, subdivision 6,
who administers, prescribes, or dispenses medications or procedures
to relieve another person's pain or discomfort,
even if the medication or procedure may hasten or increase the risk of death,
does not violate this section unless the medications or procedures
are knowingly administered, prescribed, or dispensed to cause death.

(b) A health care provider, as defined in section 145B.02, subdivision 6,
who withholds or withdraws a life-sustaining procedure
in compliance with chapter 145B or 145C
or in accordance with reasonable medical practice
does not violate this section.

    Subd. 4. Injunctive relief.

A cause of action for injunctive relief may be maintained against any person
who is reasonably believed to be about to violate
or who is in the course of violating this section
by any person who is:
(1) the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the person who would commit suicide;
(2) an heir or a beneficiary under a life insurance policy of the person who would commit suicide;
(3) a health care provider of the person who would commit suicide;
(4) a person authorized to prosecute or enforce the laws of this state; or
(5) a legally appointed guardian or conservator of the person who would have committed suicide.

    Subd. 5. Civil damages.

A person given standing by subdivision 4, clause (1), (2), or (5),
or the person who would have committed suicide, in the case of an attempt,
may maintain a cause of action against any person who violates or who attempts to violate subdivision 1 or 2 for
compensatory damages and punitive damages as provided in section 549.20.
A person described in subdivision 4, clause (4),
may maintain a cause of action against a person who violates
or attempts to violate subdivision 1 or 2
for a civil penalty of up to $50,000 on behalf of the state.
An action under this subdivision may be brought
whether or not the plaintiff had prior knowledge of the violation or attempt.

    Subd. 6. Attorney fees.

Reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded to the prevailing plaintiff
in a civil action brought under subdivision 4 or 5.

History: 1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.215; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 c 444; 1992 c 577 s
6-9; 1998 c 399 s 37

---

    Suicide itself was long ago removed from the law of Minnesota and most other states.
All that remains from ancient times is the crime of 'assisting a suicide'.
And now even this crime has been clarified
so that it does not include the standards practices of terminal medical care.
The most useful and interesting new provisions of this law are Subdivision 3 (a) and (b).

    (a) permits health care workers to give medications to their patient
for the relief of pain and discomfort,
even with the knowledge that such medications might shorten the process of dying
as long as the intention of the health care worker is not to cause death.

    This has been a long-established practice in medicine,
but only recently has it been explicitly recognized in law.
Other states are encouraged to follow the example of Minnesota.

    The use of medication for controlling pain and discomfort
could be divided into two categories as used in the medical profession:
(1) increasing pain-medication & (2) terminal sedation.

1. Increasing pain-medication.

Whatever medications are normally used for a specific medical problem
can be increased within reasonable limits
as long as the decision to increase medication
is not an explicit decision to bring death to the patient.
The knowledge that the increased medication
will probably shorten the process of dying (in a dying patient)
is not the same as assisting an irrational suicide,
which this law defines as advising, encouraging, or assisting
another person in "taking the other's own life".

2. Terminal sedation.

Altho this law does not explicitly describe terminal sedation,
this common medical practice would fall under this permission to use medications.
Terminal sedation is the practice of giving a dying patient
enough medication to keep him or her continuously unconscious
until death take place from natural causes.
Under this practice, the medication is not intended to cause directly the patient's death.
Such a purpose is prohibited by this law against assisting in an irrational suicide.
But the practice of terminal sedation acknowledges that death is the very likely outcome
of the medical decision to keep the patient continuously unconscious by medical means.
Coupled with terminal sedation,
the patient will almost always be removed from all forms of life-support,
including food and water provided by any means, including tubes.
Termination of life-supports is discussed in the next section of this law (b).

---

    (b) permits health-care workers to withhold or discontinue any form of life-support.

    This is also a long-established part of medical care.
When there is no reasonable hope of recovery,
the patient, the family, & the doctors agree to withhold or withdraw
any and all forms of life-sustaining procedures and technology.
Everyone knows that death will inevitably follow.
But the death is recorded as having been caused by the underlying disease or condition
and not by the fact that life-support measures were terminated.

    This section of a law against assisting an irrational suicide
explicitly states that health-care workers who 'pull the plug'
on any means of sustaining life
are not guilty of assisting an irrational suicide.

    This revised law does not mention another common medical practice,
namely giving up all food and water at the end of life.
But especially when food and water
are being provided to the patient by means of tubes,
such means of sustaining life would be considered part of the life-supports,
which can now be withdrawn
without danger of a charge of assisting an irrational suicide.

    Voluntary death by dehydration is not mentioned in this law,
but it could be argued that this freedom to decline food and water
is completely compatible with everything in this law.

    Perhaps other states will include such provisions
when they revise their laws against assisting irrational suicide.

    These four legal ways to choose to die are discussed more completely here:
"Four Legal Means to Choose a Voluntary Death or a Merciful Death":
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-L-END.html

---

---

---

---