2002
On May 21, 2002, the Ohio House of Representatives passed Sub. H.B. 474 (the "Ohio Compassionate End-of-Life Care Law") by a vote of 83 to 7. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Merle Kearns (R, Springfield).

The law creates a Compassionate Care Task Force to make recommendations on improving pain control and palliative care for persons with terminal illness or severe chronic pain. The law also aims to deter assisted suicide by:

• Declaring assisting suicide to be against the public policy of the state;
• Giving the state medical board, the state nursing board and the respiratory care board the authority to suspend or revoke the license of any physician, physician's assistant, nurse or respiratory care practitioner who assists a suicide; and
• Authorizing the common pleas courts to issue injunctions against any person who is preparing, is in the course of, or has assisted a suicide, and authorizing the recovery of attorney fees by the person who successfully requested the injunction.

1996
The Ohio state supreme court ruled in October 1996 that assisted suicide is not a crime.

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