MAAS Requests Ruling From Board, It's About Time

On September 26, 2012, Montanans Against Assisted Suicide submitted a formal petition to the Board of Medical Examiners requesting that the Board rule on Position Statement No. 20.  A hard copy of the petition can be viewed by clicking here.  The petition states in part:

"This matter has been pending before the Board for a year. On May 2, 2012, MAAS filed a formal request to vacate Position Statement No. 20, which implies that assisted suicide and/or euthanasia is legal in Montana, which is not the case. On July 6, 2012, MAAS submitted additional argument to the Board.

MAAS’s grounds for relief were twofold: (1) The Board enacted Position Statement No. 20 without required notice and participation by the public; and (2) the Board lacks statutory, constitutional and/or rulemaking authority to enter such a statement. These grounds for relief are explained in more detail in the materials previously filed with the Board on this issue. 


On July 20, 2012, the Board held a hearing on Position Statement No. 20 at which time they voted to thank interested parties for their input. 

On July 26, 2012, the Board issued a letter-ruling to MAAS in which the Board refused to rule on the issue. The letter ruling stated: "At this time, the Board will take no action regarding Position Paper #20."

On August 27, 2012, MAAS filed a petition for relief on this matter with the First Judicial District Court of Lewis and Clark County of the State of Montana, for which service on the Board is forthcoming. Meanwhile, MAAS is filing this formal petition in the hope that the matter can be resolved short of court action."