Oregon case raises states' rights issues
By The Editors, Nashville City Paper, Feb. 18, 2005
The United States Supreme Court will take up a sticky issue today when it considers Oregon's assisted suicide law.
On one side are the people of Oregon, who twice voted for the law in 1994 and also in 1997. The Death with Dignity Act allows Oregon doctors to prescribe controlled substances to mentally competent patients who have six months or less to live. The substance is administered by the patients themselves.
On the other side is the federal government, represented by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It opposes assisted suicide.
The Bush administration is using a controversial path to try to overturn Oregon's law. In a directive filed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft, the administration maintains that the law violates the Controlled Substances Act because assisting terminally ill patients in committing suicide serves no "legitimate medical purpose." The administration also argues that taking drugs to commit suicide is drug abuse. The directive said that doctors who prescribed controlled substances for assisted suicide could lose their federal prescription licenses.
The rub is that the Controlled Substances Act was never meant to be applied to assisted suicide. The law was enacted to control the illegal use of legally controlled substances in the black market.
The topic here may be assisted suicide, but the real issue is states' rights versus the rights of the federal government. Traditionally conservative and liberal people are finding themselves in somewhat unfamiliar territory.
Conservatives have preached states' rights on a number of issues. Liberals have viewed the federal government as a sort of benevolent landlord.
The high court has purposely left the door open in the assisted suicide debate. When it last considered the issue in 1997, it upheld a state ban on assisted suicide while maintaining that the issue should remain under state control.
"Throughout the nation, Americans are engaged in an earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality and practicality of physician-assisted suicide," the court said. "Our holding permits this debate to continue as it should in a democratic society."
States' rights should prevail in this case. The voters spoke and should be heard.
Share on StumbleUpon
Defend dignity. Take action.
You are the key to ensuring well-crafted Death with Dignity laws for all Americans. With your financial and volunteer help, the Death with Dignity National Center, a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Member contributions helped us pass a new Death with Dignity law in Washington, defend the Oregon law, and provide education and outreach programs for the vitality of the death with dignity movement.
Make a Donation
Your donation helps us continue to advocate for the right of the terminally ill to die with dignity.
Stay Connected
Sign up for the latest news and information about Death with Dignity.
Additional ways to stay in touch: |  |  |  |
About Death with Dignity
The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. From advance directives to physician-assisted dying, death with dignity is a movement to provide options for the dying to control their own end-of-life care.
Death with Dignity National Center is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon and Washington Death with Dignity Acts.
Political Action Fund
The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states.
Learn more about the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund.
Patients & Families
The Death with Dignity National Center was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. We are pleased to provide you with support and information as you face the difficult challenges ahead.
Research Center
We have compiled a comprehensive collection of legal briefs, journal articles, and newspaper clippings. We invite you to explore the wide array of information we have collected throughout our history.
© 2012 Death with Dignity National Center. Powered by Mandate Media.
We respect your privacy. Please see our Privacy Policy and Statement of Ethics for more information.
