New Hampshire House tables legalized assisted suicide bill
By a single vote, the New Hampshire House of Representatives decided to table a proposal to legalize assisted suicide.
House Bill 254, sponsored by Windham Republican Rep. Bob Lynn, seeks to legalize medical aid in dying in New Hampshire. If enacted, it would allow adults to end their life through doctor-prescribed drugs. In order to receive the fatal drugs under this bill, two different doctors would have to determine those adults to be likely to die within six months or they would have to be in Medicare-certified hospice care with a terminal condition. The patient receiving aid-in-dying drugs would also need to have the mental capacity to 'understand and appreciate health care options available' and give informed consent. The drugs must be self-administered. The medical provider must also determine the patient is not being coerced into the assisted suicide.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW is in a crisis, call, text or chat the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. To reach the New Hampshire Rapid Response Access Point, call or text 833-710-6477. If you need help with grief and loss, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers advice and resources. You can also call the National SAMHSA Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, with services in English and Spanish, toll free 24/7.
By tabling this bill, the House decided not to advance it to the Senate, but didn't kill it entirely. Lawmakers can still bring it back up for a vote should they choose. The bipartisan vote to table it was 183-182.
'I do enjoy a debate of nine speakers such as we have lined up here as much as the next guy,' House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said, advocating for the House to skip debate and simply table it. 'But I also know that we don't need to have the same debate every year.'
The debate over assisted suicide is not a new one in the New Hampshire State House. The practice was almost legalized last year when 2024's House Bill 1283, a very similar piece of legislation, was approved by the House, but failed in the Senate.
In hearings leading up to Thursday's vote, proponents of the bill argued it provides a way for people with terminal illnesses and conditions to avoid some of the suffering they may face in their final days of life. Opponents of the bill argued it would lead to a so-called slippery slope where doctors give up on treating people with disabilities and severe conditions in favor of encouraging them to choose death. Opponents were also concerned it would be abused by people with depression and suicidal ideation.
Assisted suicide is already legal in 10 U.S. states — including Vermont and Maine — and Washington, D.C. It's also legal in countries like Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and Belgium.
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