The Ethics of National and International Organ Markets

Legal Trends in Bioethics (August 2010)

END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS

Recent Judicial Cases

*Connecticut. On 01 June 2010, the Superior Court for the Judicial District of Hartford dismissed Blick v. Connecticut. Two physicians, Dr. Gary Blick and Dr. Ronald Levine, requested that the court permit them to engage in physician-assisted suicide, allowing them to provide aid in dying to terminally ill, mentally competent adults. The physicians sought assurance that they would not be prosecuted under Connecticut General Statute § 53a-56, which defines second degree manslaughter to include assisted suicide. The court notes the clear intention of the legislature to include physician-assisted suicide in the definition of manslaughter and also refers to the failure of several proposed amendments that would have excepted aid in dying under the statute. Because the court found it clear that the statute applied to the plaintiff- physicians, there was no present controversy, making the case non- justiciable; amending the statute to permit aid in dying is the task of the legislature and not the court. Furthermore, the claim was barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which prohibits bringing suit against a

state or its officials, except under narrow circumstances, none of which applied here. Blick v. Connecticut, No. CV-09- 5033392 (Sup. Ct. CT 2010) http://www.compassionandchoices.org// documents/memorandum-%20of- dismissal-decision.pdf (last accessed 07 August 2010).

Minnesota. On 23 April 2010, the Rice County Circuit Court of Minnesota charged William Melchert-Dinkel, a former nurse, with two felony counts of aiding suicides via the internet. Melchert-Dinkel is accused of encouraging the suicides of two individuals through internet correspondence. On 25 May 2010, Melchert-Dinkel made his first court appearance and was ordered to refrain from using the internet. Minnesota v. Melchert-Dinkel, No. CR-10-1193 (County Ct. MN 2010) http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/melchert- dinkel-complaint.pdf (last accessed 07 August 2010). See also "No Internet for Ex-Nurse Charged in Suicides," 25 May 2010, available at http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/new s/minnesota/nurse-internet-suicides- william-melchert-dinkel-may-25-2010 (last accessed 07 August 2010).

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THE RIGHTS OF MATURING INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR PARENTS

Recent Judicial Cases

Federal. On 02 February 2010, Personhood Mississippi brought a civil rights action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi alleging state and federal constitutional violations and violations of the Voter Initiative Act. The complaint alleges that plaintiff Leslie Riley proposed changing the definition of "person" in the Mississippi Constitution to "include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof" and that her efforts to complete and file the necessary voter initiatives required for proposed amendments are being hampered by the state, which is allegedly giving her a shorter timeframe within which to complete such process than is provided by law. On 09 February 2010, the District Court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction and issued a stay pending resolution of the state law issues. Personhood Mississippi v. Hood, No. 3:10-cv-71 (U.S. Dist. Ct. S. Dist. MS 2010) http://www.lc.org/media/9980/attachmen ts/complaint_ms_personhood_020210.p df (last accessed 07 August 2010). See also, Docket Report, available at http://dockets.justia.com/docket/mississi ppi/mssdce/3:2010cv00071/71230/ (last accessed 07 August 2010).