A challenge to Washington state’s ban on doctor-assisted suicide gained new life Tuesday when the first federal appeals court to address the issue agreed to reconsider its ruling upholding the law.

The case, followed nationally, involves arguments by terminally ill patients and their doctors that the Constitution protects a person’s right to seek physician assistance in dying.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in March that the ban was valid. The majority said the law protects the poor, handicapped and elderly and prevents doctors from becoming “killers.”

But the court said Tuesday a majority of its 24 active judges had voted to refer the case to an 11-judge panel for a new hearing.

“We are gratified that a majority of the 9th Circuit judges realize that the issue of whether terminally ill patients have the legal right to control their final days is a pressing matter for millions of Americans,” said Susan Dunshee, president of Compassion in Dying, a Seattle-based group.