A ruling by Second Judicial Judge Nan G. Nash prohibits the prosecution of physicians who help competent terminally ill patients end their lives. The decision stated, “This court cannot envision a right more fundamental, more private or more integral to the liberty, safety and happiness of a New Mexican than the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to choose aid in dying.” The ruling further stated ” NMSA 1978 § 30-2-4 [“Assisted Suicide Statute”] therefore violates our State constitution when applied to aid in dying.”
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King filed an appeal of the ruling on Mar. 13, 2014, stating, “We feel, win or lose, we need some decision by the [state] Supreme Court, or at least the appeals court, that will apply across the state… Our position is we’re defending the integrity of the statute.”