Current Status
Georgia State Senators Steve Henson (D-Stone Mountain) and Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) introduced SB 291, the Georgia Death with Dignity Act, on January 14, 2020. The bill was referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
Resources
History
The 2020 bill is the first ever death with dignity proposal to be introduced in the Georgia General Assembly.
While Georgia passed a law prohibiting certain “assisted suicides” in 1994, this law was unanimously struck down in 2012 by the Georgia Supreme Court for violating the free speech provisions of both the United States and Georgia constitutions. The original law focused on cases where steps were taken to carry out the suicide, and assistance was promoted, rather than a blanket prohibition on all “assisted suicides.”
