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F 18.55 n1 Aiding In Suicide (PC 401).
Vacco v. Quill (97) 521 US 793, 807 [138 LEd2d 834; 117 SCt 2293] held that New York’s law against aiding and abetting suicide does not violate equal protection as a violation of the patient’s right to refuse treatment. The court recognized a distinction between “letting a patient die and making that patient die” and, therefore, the distinction between refusing life-saving medical treatment and assisted suicide is not “arbitrary” and “irrational.” (See alsoWashington v. Glucksberg (97) 521 US 702 [117 LEd2d 2302; 138 SCt 772] [Washington’s ban on physician assisted-suicide is rationally related to a legitimate government interest, protects vulnerable groups, and prevents a broader license to voluntary or involuntary euthanasia].)
F 18.55 n2 Aiding In Suicide (PC 401): Inapplicable To Attempted Suicide.
See In re Ryan N. (2001) 92 CA4th 1139 [112 CR2d 620] [defendant cannot be convicted of aiding and abetting suicide of victim who does not die].