Physician-assisted suicide has appeared in headlines in recent months as some states seek to expand access to the practice.
Here are five things to know about physician-assisted suicide legislation in the U.S.:
1. Physician-assisted suicide, often referred to as "medical aid in dying," or MAID, was first legalized in 1994 with the passage of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act in a referendum vote, according to the AMA Journal of Ethics. However, lawsuits delayed its implementation until 1997.
2. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected any constitutional right of terminally ill patients to MAID, declaring it a matter of states' rights.
3. Ten states and the District of Columbia have legalized MAID, but only for their own residents and with restrictions, according to Death with Dignity, a MAID advocacy group. Those states are California, Maine, Oregon, Colorado, Montana, Vermont, New Jersey, Washington, Hawaii and New Mexico.
4. Four states are currently considering MAID legislation this year, including: Delaware, Indiana, New Hampshire and New York.
5. MAID is currently illegal in most other states. In Virginia, it is considered a civil offense. West Virginia recently sought to codify the prohibition of MAID into its state constitution, which would make it much more difficult to legalize in the future, according to the Mountain State Spotlight.