Scalia’s Right to Die Remarks Criticized

Two weeks after the Supreme Court agreed to rule on whether a terminally ill person has a right to die with a doctor’s help, Justice Antonin Scalia told a college audience in the nation’s capital it is “absolutely plain that there is no right to die.” Although Scalia’s view is neither surprising nor new, it is unusual for a justice to speak publicly about an issue that is before the court. In a recent talk to a class at Catholic University, Scalia repeated that “it is absolutely plain. . . . There were laws against suicide” in all the states when the Constitution was adopted. Several experts in legal ethics criticized Scalia for publicly stating his opinion on a pending issue. But, they said, his statements do not mean that he must disqualify himself from hearing the case.