Court of Appeal reinstates state assisted suicide law as challenge goes forward

A state appellate court panel temporarily reinstated a California law allowing terminally ill patients to get doctors' help in ending their lives, reversing a trial judge's ruling that the law was unconstitutional.

The 4th District Court of Appeal issued an immediate stay on Friday in response to a first amended petition for a writ of mandate filed by the state. Parties have 25 days to file a formal return and 15 days to file a traverse, according to the order signed by Presiding Justice Manuel A. Ramirez. Becerra v. Superior Court (Riverside), E070545 (Cal. App. 4th Dist., filed June 8, 2016).

"This ruling provides some relief to California patients, their families and doctors who have been living in uncertainty while facing difficult health decisions," state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "[The ruling] is an important step to protect and defend the End of Life Option Act for our families across the state."

An appellate court panel on May 23 voted in a split decision to deny Becerra's request for a stay of Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia's May 15 decision to strike down the law as a challenge against it progressed.

Ottolia sided with Riverside County doctors and a national medical ethics group that claimed it was passed illegally during a special legislative session convened to address Affordable Care Act costs in 2015. Ahn v. Hestrin, RIC1607135 (Riverside Super. Ct., filed June 8, 2016).

Co-author of the bill Susan T. Eggman, D-Stockton, said in a statement she is "confident that the law will be upheld when the appeals process comes to a conclusion."

Stephen G. Larson of Larson O'Brien LLP represents the six doctors challenging the law, including named plaintiff Dr. Sang-Hoon Ahn. Larson was unable to comment by press time.

While Ottolia's decision rested on the context of the law's passage, the plaintiffs initially argued the law violated Section 401 of California's Penal Code, which makes it a felony for an individual to aid, assist or encourage another person to commit suicide. Ottolia's ruling didn't address that aspect of the law.

In January, Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, D-South Los Angeles, introduced legislation to amend Section 401 to exempt those in compliance with the End of Life Option Act from prosecution. On May 15, the bill passed the Public Safety Committee in a 5-2 vote.

The so-called right-to-die law allows terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to request life-ending drugs from their doctor. Within six months of the bill's passage, 111 patients chose to get help ending their lives, according to a 2016 report by the California Department of Public Health. California was the fifth state to legalize physician-assisted suicide, joining Washington, Oregon, Vermont and Montana. It is also legal in Washington, D.C.