U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Assisted-Suicide Law
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed lower court decisions which had nullified an attempt by the Bush administration to prohibit physicians from prescribing certain drugs for use under Oregon’s “Death With Dignity Act”.
Oregon’s law allows patients who have been found to be competent, acting voluntarily, and terminally ill by two physicians to end their own lives with drugs prescribed by the patient’s doctor.
The Attorney General had issued an order which ruled that assisted suicide was not a legitimate medical purpose under the Controlled Substances Act and therefore the prescription drugs could not be used in the practice.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, held that the Attorney General had no authority to determine that a medical practice which is specifically authorized by state law is not a legitimate medical purpose under federal law.
Justices Scalia and Thomas, who always seem to agree with each other, joined the Court’s newest justice, Roberts, in dissenting from the majority’s opinion, finding that Congress had, in fact, authorized the Attorney General to decide what is, and is not, a legitimate medical purpose.
I believe this decision will have other significance in the future. If, as is expected, the conservatives gain a majority on the Supreme Court and it eventually reverses the Roe v. Wade decision, some states will prohibit abortion, while others will allow it. Then, we will likely see attempts by some in the federal government to use the Controlled Substances Act and other federal laws to make it impossible for doctors to assist women with abortions in those states even where they would otherwise be permitted. This decision could inhibit such efforts.