In May 2015, a Minnesota jury found Final Exit Network guilty of helping Doreen Dunn kill herself in 2007. That decision has been upheld by an appeals court, and the state Supreme Court has refused to hear the case.

“We’re very pleased that they upheld the lower court ruling that Final Exit Network has, in fact, violated Minnesota’s law against assisted suicide,” Bill Poehler of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life tells OneNewsNow.

“It’s the first time anywhere in the nation,” he adds, “that they have been convicted of breaking the law.”

According to Pohler, Final Exit has been violating the law for over two decades.

“People cannot assist another person in ending [a life] here in the state [of Minnesota],” he explains.

Pohler says that resources should be made available to people who believe they need to end their lives. He believes they need care, protection, medical care, and possibly mental health care. Many patients need palliative care to manage pain.

Final Exit Network may take their appeal of the conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Poehler suggests that an ulterior motive may be at play.

“They do seem to want the publicity and notoriety that come along with a major court case,” he observes.