Nearly 200 People in New Mexico Received Lethal Prescriptions for Assisted Suicide Last Year

Government data shows healthcare providers in New Mexico prescribed lethal drugs to 170 people last year under the state’s End-of-Life Options Act.

New Mexico legalized assisted suicide in 2021, and at the time the law was considered one of the worst of its kind. The law lets non-physicians like advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants prescribe assisted suicide drugs, and it does not require patients to see a mental health professional before ending their lives.

New Mexico’s 2025 assisted suicide report shows 170 people received lethal prescriptions last year. All of those prescriptions came from 26 healthcare providers in the state.

The report does not reveal how many people may have traveled to New Mexico for assisted suicide, and it does not provide details about government oversight to ensure healthcare providers complied with the law.

Experience has shown again and again that assisted suicide does not help people who are sick and dying.

Oregon first allowed assisted suicide in 1998, and official state reports have shown for years that the reasons people give most often for wanting to end their lives are loss of autonomy, decreasing ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable, and loss of dignity.

Most patients do not express concerns about pain. They are lonely, and they feel like they are losing control because of their illnesses. These patients need counseling and support — not a prescription for deadly drugs.

That is part of the reason why Family Council has worked hard to block assisted suicide legislation in Arkansas.

In 2019 and 2021, Arkansas lawmakers wisely rejected very bad end-of-life laws that were flawed and fundamentally disrespected the right to life. Family Council worked closely with our friends in the legislature to stop these proposals.

Being pro-life means respecting innocent human life from conception until natural death. Just like abortion, euthanasia and assisted-suicide are murder, and they violate the sanctity of human life.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.