CUMMING | Assisted suicide would be banned under new law | News

ATLANTA -- Assisting in another person's suicide would be become a felony crime in Georgia punishable by up to a decade in prison under legislation passed by House lawmakers.

The legislation adopted Monday responds to a state Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down a 1994 law banning people from publicly advertising suicide. It passed by a vote of 124-45.

That ruling meant that four members of the Final Exit Network charged in February 2009 with helping a 58-year-old cancer patient die would not have to stand trial.

Republican Rep. Ed Setzler of Acworth said that as a result of the ruling, Georgia is among a handful of states that have no law banning assisted suicide. He said 39 other states have forbidden the practice.