When Is Assisted Suicide a Crime in California?

While it is not necessarily a crime to attempt suicide in California, you can be charged with a felony for assisting someone else’s suicide. California recently passed the End of Life Option Act, which creates a legal path for terminally ill patients to end their own lives. However, the recent change to the law still does not grant a loved one or friend the ability to assist the terminally ill.

Assisted Suicide Requires Deliberate Actions

California law bans anyone from deliberately aiding, advising, or encouraging someone else to commit suicide. For you to be charged, the person must actually follow-through and at least try to kill themselves. If you provide assistance for someone who initially wants to commit suicide but then changes their mind and does not even attempt it, you can’t be charged with aiding suicide.

The deliberate actions that can form the basis of a charge for assisted suicide vary and are different from the elements of a murder charge. Murder requires active participation in the death of another, such as smothering someone with a pillow. Assisted suicide charges can result from passive actions, such as buying a large number of painkillers for a terminally-ill friend. If you know that the friend intends to use the painkillers to end their life, acquiring the drugs is a crime if your friend tries to commit suicide.

Even if your loved one or friend begs you to help them end their life, you still commit a crime by assisting. There is no loophole for mercy killings in California. It does not matter how sick the other person is or how close to death they are; if you aid in their suicide attempt, you can still be charged with a crime.

Physicians Can Legally Prescribe End of Life Medications

The only people who can avoid punishment for assisting in someone else’s suicide are licensed doctors. Under the End of Life Option Act passed in 2016, California physicians have a very limited avenue for helping their patients take their life. The Act legalizes physicians prescribing life-ending medications on request from a terminally ill patient.

Be aware that technically you can still be charged with assisted suicide if you help a loved one fill or administer validly prescribed end of life medication. To avoid charges, the terminally ill patient should do everything in their power to acquire and take the prescription themselves.

Assisted Suicide Is a Felony in California

If you are charged with assisted suicide, you will be facing a felony conviction. The maximum penalty for assisted suicide includes:

• Up to three years in state prison; and,
• A fine of $10,000.

Depending on the facts of your case, a judge may issue you formal probation instead of sending you to prison. Because a prosecutor must prove that you took a deliberate step in aiding a suicide attempt, an experienced legal team can help secure your freedom. For example, if you filled a prescription for your loved one as you usually do but did not know they intended to use the medication to commit suicide, you did not commit a crime.

Have you been charged with assisting in a suicide or suicide attempt in Los Angeles, California? The Chambers Law Firm can craft a strategy to fight the allegations and defend your rights. Contact us at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule an initial case consultation with a member of our skilled legal team.