Supreme Court Sets Hearing Date

July 25, 2005

Supreme Court Sets Date to Hear Gonzales v. Oregon

July 25, 2005

Hearing Date Set for October 5, 2005

Contact: Robert C. Kenneth; e-mail, or call (503) 228-4415

Portland, OR – Today, the United States Supreme Court set Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. (EST) for hearing oral arguments in the case of Gonzales v. Oregon.

Robert Atkinson, Senior Assistant Attorney General, will argue on behalf of the State of Oregon by presenting the question:

"Whether the Attorney General has permissibly construed the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq., and its implementing regulations to prohibit the distribution of federally controlled substances for the purpose of facilitating an individual's suicide, regardless of a state law purporting to authorize such distribution."

The State's three arguments are:

1 The Attorney General's threatened action would nullify the DWDA.

2 The CSA does not itself prohibit the uses of controlled substances permitted by the DWDA, and it does not authorize the U.S. Attorney General to do so.

3 The Court should reject this unprecedented attempt by an agency official to resolve a disputed issue of social and medical policy that is reserved to the States and should reemphasize the vital role State sovereignty plays in our federal system and the need for Congress to speak clearly when it intends to interfere with that role.

  • Click here to view the U.S. Justice Department's brief.
  • Click here to view the State of Oregon's brief.
  • Click here to view the brief by attorney and DDNC board member Eli D. Stutsman, representing the physician and pharmacist in Gonzales v. Oregon.
  • Click here to view the actual law.
  • Click here to view the law's safeguards.
  • Click here to go to the Oregon Department of Health and Human Services' frequently asked questions on the Death with Dignity Law.
  • Click here to view the Seventh Annual Report on Oregon's Death with Dignity Law.

This year marks the 11th anniversary of the Death with Dignity law. The law, passed by Oregon voters in 1994, was delayed in its implementation until late 1997.

For up-to-the minute information on the Death with Dignity law, the litigation and efforts at end-of-life care reform in other states, please visit www.deathwithdignity.org.

Defend dignity. Take action.

For more than 14 years, the Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC), a 501(c)(3), non-partisan, non-profit organization, has been the leading advocate in the death with dignity movement. Leaders in our organization originally wrote and have continued advocating for the Oregon Death with Dignity Law. DDNC has met these challenges through extensive legal defense of the Oregon law, education and outreach programs, and by developing and nurturing diverse financial resources with one goal in mind: to ensure DDNC's financial vitality and its position as a leader in the death with dignity movement.

Your donation today will enable us to continue to advocate for the right of the terminally ill to die with dignity. Please click here to give a secure, online donation. Thank you.

Get Email Updates

Sign up for the latest news, blogs, and action alerts in the fight for Death with Dignity.

Political Action Fund

The Death with Dignity National Center partners with the Oregon Death with Dignity Political Action Fund (the Fund) to conduct lobbying and political activities in order to achieve the enactment of Death with Dignity laws in other states. The partnership resulted in tremendous success with the resounding win in the 2008 Washington Death with Dignity campaign.

Learn more about the Fund's efforts to bring dignity to people around the nation.

About Death with Dignity

The greatest human freedom is to live, and die, according to one's own desires and beliefs. The most common desire among those with a terminal illness is to die with some measure of dignity. 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 (DDNC) is the leader in this movement, successfully establishing, advancing and defending the landmark Oregon Death with Dignity Act -- a national catalyst for openly discussing and actively reforming end-of-life care for those who are terminally ill.

Learn more about the National Center and our family of organizations.

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. Based on this commitment, we are pleased to provide you with support and information as you face the difficult challenges ahead.

Access resources for patients and families.

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.

In our Research Center you will find frequently asked questions, the history of the death with dignity movement, state monitoring statistics, and a copy of this groundbreaking statute.

Dive into the archives of the National Center.