GA Supreme Court Strikes Down Assisted Suicide Law

February 15, 2012

Last Monday the Georgia Supreme Court struck down a provision in Georgia law that made it a felony to publicly advertise services to assist another individual in committing suicide.

In a rare unanimous decision, the law was ruled unconstitutional under the U.S. and Georgia constitutions as violating free speech rights because it targeted only certain types of speech related to assisted suicide.

While the decision can be seen as a setback for the pro-life community, it highlights a much more important point. Before the law was passed, assisted suicide was legal in Georgia. After the law was passed, assisted suicide remained legal.

The law was only intended to limit the advertising of assisted suicide services; it did little to establish a consistent state policy against the practice.

That's something Georgia needs and we'll be encouraging our legislators to take up this issue and deal with it more comprehensively.

Click here to download a pdf of the Court's ruling.