Contact: Greg Eddleston - geddleston@dwd.org / (503) 228.6079

PORTLAND, OR – Late Friday May 24^th, on the eve of a national holiday weekend, the Ashcroft Justice Department appealed Judge Robert Jones’ April 17^th decision which stated that the Federal government cannot overturn Oregon’s Death with Dignity law.  The appeal will go before the Ninth Circuit Appellate Court in San Francisco.  Officials of the Oregon Death with Dignity Center denounced the Attorney General’s announcement as a waste of time and tax dollars.

“Just how many times must the Attorney General see the democratic and legal processes demonstrated?  The people have voted twice.  The courts have ruled twice.  This law has been a catalyst to improved end-of-life care – in Oregon and nationally.  Tax payer dollars are being squandered in Ashcroft’s crusade,” said Scott Blaine Swenson, Executive Director of the Oregon Death with Dignity Center.

The Oregon Death with Dignity Center (ODWD) is prepared to meet this fresh legal challenge.  ODWD is the legal defense and public education nonprofit that has represented a physician and pharmacist in the proceedings.  ODWD has been the vanguard for Oregon’s law and has successfully proposed, passed and defended the Death with Dignity law since 1994.

The following individuals are available for comment.

ELI STUTSMAN (attorney / ODWD Board President) is the Portland attorney representing Dr. Peter Rasmussen and pharmacist David Hochhalter in the case against Attorney General John Ashcroft.  Stutsman is one of the principal authors of the Oregon Death with Dignity law and was the strategist behind the 1994 and 1997 electoral victories that passed the law.  Stutsman defended the law in federal court between 1994 and 1997 in cases that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to stand - thus permitting Oregon’s law to go into effect on October 27, 1997.  Stutsman has been instrumental in strategies to defend Oregon’s law throughout its implementation.

DR. PETER RASMUSSEN (plaintiff) is a Salem physician and plaintiff in the case against Attorney General John Ashcroft.  Rasmussen is a medical oncologist, board certified in hospice and palliative medicine and has prescribed under the Oregon Death with Dignity law.

DR. ALAN BATES (physician / Oregon Representative / ODWD Board Member) is a practicing physician and member of the Oregon House of Representatives.  Dr. Bates recently joined the board of the Oregon Death with Dignity Center.

SCOTT BLAINE SWENSON (ODWD Executive Director) has been involved in the assisted dying issue since the 1997 U.S. Supreme Court cases and has been intimately involved in the strategies to prevent federal intrusion.

Please contact Greg Eddleston at the number or email address above to schedule interviews.  Visit us on the web: www.dwd.org.  

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