RSSEditorial: A Test of Life and Death
By None, The Hartford Courant, Nov. 22, 2005
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. had no chance to warm up to his new job by shagging softballs. Among the first cases on the U.S. Supreme Court docket for the session that began last month was one involving the emotional subject of physician-assisted suicide.
The justices will not have to decide directly on the ethics of the act or whether terminally ill people should have the right to end their own suffering. But the decision from the bench in the case of Gonzales vs. Oregon will reflect the Roberts court's bent regarding the important right of states to decide such matters for themselves.
At issue is the narrow question of whether former Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft had the authority to intervene in Oregon's Death With Dignity law that allows doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to terminally ill patients who meet certain stringent criteria.
Mr. Ashcroft opposes assisted suicide on religious grounds. As a U.S. senator from Missouri, he failed in his quest to block the Oregon law or pass legislation to prohibit assisted suicide. When he became attorney general, he used his federal enforcement power to threaten Oregon physicians who participate in assisted suicide with prosecution and loss of prescription privileges.
Whatever one believes about the wisdom of assisted suicide, it is law in Oregon. Voters there approved it twice, and so far more than 200 patients have chosen to end their lives.
A federal court ruled that Mr. Ashcroft was out of line in 2001 when he ordered the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, under the authority of the federal Controlled Substances Act, to prosecute Oregon doctors who participated in suicide assistance. The case now before the high court is an appeal of that decision by the Bush administration.
In a prior ruling on the subject, the Supreme Court wisely left it to states to decide whether to adopt such a policy.
There's no reason to change that opinion.
Share on StumbleUpon
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.
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.
