Judge to Rule on Oregon’s Suicide Law

The fate of Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law went before a federal judge Friday, with the state arguing that the federal government has no right to interfere with a measure twice approved by the voters.

The one-day hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Jones came after Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft threatened to suspend or revoke the drug-prescribing licenses of Oregon doctors who dispense lethal drugs to patients who want to end their lives.

Passed by referendum in 1994 and 1997, Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act allows patients with less than six months to live to ask a doctor to prescribe a lethal combination of drugs. The law was the first of its kind in the nation.

In his Nov. 6 order, Ashcroft said helping a terminally ill patient commit suicide is not a legitimate medical practice.

But Steve Bushong, an Oregon assistant attorney general, argued Friday that a state has the right to regulate medical practice as it sees fit. Moreover, he said, the Justice Department should have sought public comment or debate before overriding a state law.

The order “strikes at the heart of the will of the Oregon people,” Bushong said.

Lawyers for the federal government argued that Washington can interpret the Controlled Substances Act to enforce drug laws uniformly and protect public health. Gregory Katsas, a deputy U.S. attorney general, said the act gives Ashcroft the authority to issue such directives.

At least 91 people have used the Oregon law to end their lives.

The judge has promised to issue a ruling within 30 days, but appeals could tie the issue up for years.

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On the Net:

Oregon Department of Justice: https://www.doj.state.or.us

Compassion in Dying: https://www.compassionindying.org

U.S. Department of Justice: https://www.usdoj.gov