§ 2505. Causing or aiding suicide.
(a) Causing suicide as criminal homicide.--A person may be convicted of criminal homicide for causing another to die by suicide
only if he intentionally causes such suicide by force, duress or deception.
(b) Aiding or soliciting suicide as an independent offense.--A person who intentionally aids or solicits another to die by suicide is guilty of
a felony of the second degree if his conduct causes such suicide or an attempted suicide,
and otherwise of a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(c) Sentencing.--
(1) The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, in accordance with 42 Pa.C.S. § 2154 (relating
to adoption of guidelines for sentencing), shall provide for a sentence enhancement
within its guidelines for an offense under this section when at the time of the offense
the person who died by suicide or was aided or solicited to die by suicide is under
18 years of age or has an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.
(2) As used in this subsection, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings
given to them in this paragraph unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Autism spectrum disorder." As defined under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5992 (relating to definitions), regardless of the age
of the individual.
"Intellectual disability." Regardless of the age of the individual, significantly subaverage general intellectual
functioning that is accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning
in at least two of the following skill areas:
(i) Communication.
(ii) Self-care.
(iii) Home living.
(iv) Social and interpersonal skills.
(v) Use of community resources.
(vi) Self-direction.
(vii) Functional academic skills.
(viii) Work.
(ix) Health.
(x) Safety.
(Sept. 30, 2021, P.L.400, No.71, eff. 60 days)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
14
cases (
3 in the last 5 years), 1977–2025 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Ludwig, 874 A.2d 623 (Pa. 2005).
Commonwealth v. Ludwig, 874 A.2d 623 (Pa. 2005).
· cites it 2× “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(c) (specifying that third-degree murder includes "[a]ll other kinds of murder" that are not first-degree murder or second-degree murder); 18 Pa.”
State v. Sage, 510 N.E.2d 343 (Ohio 1987).
“1981-1982); 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 2505 (Purdon 1973); P.”
Commonwealth v. Polimeni, 378 A.2d 1189 (Pa. 1977).
· cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 2505. Such conduct is not, however, stated to be a "classification" of criminal homicide.”
People v. Ryan N., 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 9104 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001).
“21, §§ 813 - 815; 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505 ; Tex. Penal Code § 22.”
Commonwealth v. Perez, 6 Pa. D. & C.5th 272 (2008).
· cites it 2× ““A person acts intentionally with respect to a material element of an offense when: (i) if the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result; and (ii) if the element…”
Com. v. Jordan, J. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016).
“On December 12, 2014, the trial court sentenced Jordan to a term of three to seven years’ imprisonment for carrying a firearm without a license, ____________________________________________ 2 See 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2505, 901, 2702, 903, and 2705, respectively.”
Com. v. Coleman, D. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2021).
“1(a); 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505; 18 Pa.C.S. § 3733(a); and 18 Pa.”
Com. v. Ginn, M. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025).
“See 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(c); see also Commonwealth v.”
Dr. Paul Bryman v. Phil Murphy (3rd Cir. 2025).
“18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505 (2024). A prescription lawful in Camden can be evidence of a felony in Philadelphia.”
Com. v. Brown, A. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“2 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(a). J-S75017-14 judgment of sentence.”
Commonwealth v. Pennell, 9 Pa. D. & C.4th 241 (1991).
“18 Pa.C.S. §§2505 and 3302. Pennsylvania law does not contain an express definition for gross negligence, even though this term is used in various statutes.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505(a) — 2 cases
Commonwealth v. Perez, 6 Pa. D. & C.5th 272 (2008).
““A person acts intentionally with respect to a material element of an offense when: (i) if the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result; and (ii) if the element…”
Com. v. Brown, A. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).
“2 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(a). J-S75017-14 judgment of sentence.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505(b) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505(c) — 2 cases
Commonwealth v. Ludwig, 874 A.2d 623 (Pa. 2005).
“See 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(c) (specifying that third-degree murder includes "[a]ll other kinds of murder" that are not first-degree murder or second-degree murder); 18 Pa.”
Com. v. Ginn, M. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2025).
“See 18 Pa.C.S. § 2505(c); see also Commonwealth v.”
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