Tennessee
How Compassion in Dying v. Washington applies in Tennessee: state-specific rules, key cases, and bar exam notes for Constitutional Law (Substantive Due Process; Right to Die).
Tennessee has not formally recognized a constitutional right to die or assisted suicide in the same manner as the Ninth Circuit in Compassion in Dying v. Washington. The state maintains a more restrictive stance on the right to end one's life, largely influenced by legislative frameworks and conservative cultural norms.
Tennessee law does not provide a constitutional right to die, reflected in statutory prohibitions against assisted suicide and euthanasia under T.C.A. § 39-13-216.
The court ruled against allowing assisted suicide, reinforcing that such actions fall outside the protection of state law.
This case emphasized that the right to refuse medical treatment does not equate to a right to actively end one's life.
The court declared that under Tennessee law, assisted suicide remains illegal.
Most notably, Tennessee's approach diverges from the federal standard set by Compassion in Dying v. Washington, which acknowledged a constitutional right to assisted dying under substantive due process. Unlike the Ninth Circuit's interpretation, Tennessee emphasizes its legislative prohibition and lacks protections for the right to die.
The topic of the right to die is occasionally tested in the Tennessee bar exam, particularly in relation to substantive due process and the legality of assisted suicide.