Judge Blocks Oregon Law on Assisted Suicide

A law that would have made Oregon the first government in the nation to allow doctor-assisted suicides for the terminally ill was blocked by a federal judge Wednesday, a day before it was to take effect.

U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene issued a temporary restraining order, saying he wanted to hear arguments on whether the law is constitutional. He scheduled a Dec. 19 hearing.

The state’s voters approved Measure 16 on Nov. 8. National Right to Life and other opponents immediately began legal assaults.

Measure 16 allows terminally ill patients to request life-ending medication if a doctor determines that the patient has less than six months to live. The patient must ask for the drugs three times, including once in writing, get a second doctor’s opinion and wait 15 days.

The request for a temporary restraining order was filed by James Bopp, a Terre Haute, Ind., lawyer and a nationally known opponent of assisted suicide.

“We’re doing this so that people will not kill themselves,” Bopp said.

Backers of the assisted-suicide law predicted that it would withstand court tests.

“The allegations raised by the opponents are complicated and numerous, but they will not be successful,” said Eli Stutsman, a Portland lawyer who represents the Oregon Right to Die campaign.

The law is the first of its kind. Doctor-assisted suicide is allowed in the Netherlands, but it remains technically illegal in that country, and doctors are guaranteed immunity from prosecution only if they follow strict guidelines.

Oregon health officials were still trying to work out many details of the measure. Those included how assisted suicides would be listed on death certificates and how long someone has to live in Oregon to establish residency and be eligible for assisted suicide.

In addition, many doctors and pharmacists around the state were trying to decide whether to participate and, if so, which medications and dosages should be prescribed. Some doctors also have said it is impossible to predict accurately how long a patient has to live.

Oregon’s deputy attorney general, Tom Balmer, said the state was prepared to defend the law on grounds that it meets all constitutional requirements.