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42 USC § 18113 - Prohibition against discrimination on assisted suicide 

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t42/s18113"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "42 USC § 18113 - Prohibition against discrimination on assisted suicide"
title_number: 42
title_name: "THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE"
section_number: "18113"
section_name: "Prohibition against discrimination on assisted suicide"
chapter_number: 157
chapter_name: "QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS"
subchapter_number: "VI"
subchapter_name: "MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 111–148, title I, § 1553, Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 259.)"
---

# § 18113. Prohibition against discrimination on assisted suicide

**(a)** **In general** The Federal Government, and any State or local government or health care provider that receives Federal financial assistance under this Act (or under an amendment made by this Act) or any health plan created under this Act (or under an amendment made by this Act), may not subject an individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the entity does not provide any health care item or service furnished for the purpose of causing, or for the purpose of assisting in causing, the death of any individual, such as by assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing.

**(b)** **Definition** In this section, the term “health care entity” includes an individual physician or other health care professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.

**(c)** **Construction and treatment of certain services** Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to apply to, or to affect, any limitation relating to—

**(1)** the withholding or withdrawing of medical treatment or medical care;

**(2)** the withholding or withdrawing of nutrition or hydration;

**(3)** abortion; or

**(4)** the use of an item, good, benefit, or service furnished for the purpose of alleviating pain or discomfort, even if such use may increase the risk of death, so long as such item, good, benefit, or service is not also furnished for the purpose of causing, or the purpose of assisting in causing, death, for any reason.

**(d)** **Administration** The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services is designated to receive complaints of discrimination based on this section.

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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 111–148, title I, § 1553, Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 259.)

## Editorial Notes

### References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is , , , known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under  and Tables.