Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 43, which decriminalizes suicide after the legislation failed to pass in previous years. Delegate Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, sponsored the bill, which provides that the common law crime of suicide be abolished. Simon proposed an identical bill in the 2024 session, which passed the General Assembly but was vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Legislation to end the common law crime of suicide has been proposed multiple times since 2018.
Insurance and Benefit Implications
Families of those who died by suicide are often denied certain benefits because suicide is deemed a criminal act under current law. The beneficiary of an insurance claim must prove the individual was of unsound mind so the act is not declared illegal, according to the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. If suicide is deemed illegal, an insurance claim is not attainable, and expert testimony regarding the individual’s state of mind is required. The bill requires the Bureau of Insurance to review the effects and implications of abolishing the common law crime on insurance by November 1.
Support and Implementation
The law will go into effect on July 1, 2027. Data from the National Council for Suicide Prevention shows the unadjusted suicide rate dropped 4.9% in 2024 following a spike in 2023. The suicide rate in Virginia has been lower than the national rate for the past 10 years. Supporters including disability rights advocates and mental health organizations emphasized that decriminalization helps reduce stigma and encourages compassionate responses. Nicole Durose, disability rights advocate for The Disability Law Center of Virginia, stated: “People are not going to not harm themselves because it’s against the law, but we do believe that passing this bill would be a step in the right direction for destigmatizing mental health.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://pcpatriot.com/spanberger-signs-bill-to-decriminalize-suicide/