Many people have strong beliefs about whether a person should have the right to die when they choose—to end a person’s own perceived pain and suffering, especially when they are terminally ill. These beliefs are often rooted in religion, morals, ethics, law (government-made and natural), and spirituality. Depending on a person’s beliefs or point of view, the issue and related laws may also be referred to as death with dignity, assisted suicide, aid in dying, physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, end of life options, and patient choice and control at the end of life.

Currently eight states and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) have laws (statutes) that permit persons to choose when to end their lives under certain circumstances. These states include (1) California, (2) Colorado, (3) Hawaii, (4) Maine, (5) New Jersey, (6) Oregon, (7) Vermont, and (8) Washington. And although the state of Montana does not have such a statute its supreme court has ruled that nothing in the state’s law prohibits a physician from honoring a terminally ill but mentally competent patient’s request to prescribe medication to expedite the patient’s death. In states without such laws a physician or other person’s act of assisting a person with suicide is generally subject to criminal prosecution for murder or other criminal charges.

In Minnesota, as of the current knowledge cutoff in 2023, there is no statute that allows for physician-assisted suicide or death with dignity. The state does not have a law similar to those in states like California, Colorado, or Oregon, where terminally ill patients can legally seek the assistance of a physician to end their life under certain circumstances. Assisting in suicide remains illegal in Minnesota and can lead to criminal prosecution. Individuals and attorneys in Minnesota must navigate end-of-life issues within the framework of existing laws that do not permit any form of assisted suicide. It is important for residents to understand that while some states have enacted death with dignity statutes, Minnesota is not among them, and actions that could be construed as assisting in suicide could have serious legal consequences.