On June 26, 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Vacco v. Quill and Washington v. Glucksberg that there is no constitutional right to PAS. In two opinions, written by Chief Justice William Renquist, the Court cited many of the compelling legal, medical and social reasons why states prohibit PAS. The Court also reiterated the vast difference between a right to refuse unwanted medical treatment and the right to assistance in committing suicide.
· Under current Hawaii law, PAS is classified as manslaughter (HRS sec. 707-702), which is a class A felony, punishable by an indeterminate term of imprisonment. PAD is classified as murder in the second degree (HRS sec. 707-701.5), punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Current Hawaii law so disfavors assisted suicide that both the use of force and the use of confinement are authorized to prevent another from committing suicide.