Stopping those Terrorist Doctors

Speak of the devil, really. John Ashcroft's justice department has asked the Supreme Court to rule on Oregon's Dr Assisted Suicide Law.

The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to uphold Attorney General John Ashcroft's power to stop Oregon doctors from helping terminally ill patients commit suicide, despite a state law allowing such assistance.

Oregon is the only state to allow physician-assisted suicide and since 1998 it has enabled more than 170 people to end their lives.

In appealing to the high court, administration lawyers argued that Ashcroft correctly construed federal law to prohibit distribution of lethal controlled drugs to assist suicides, regardless of the state law.
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Ashcroft's directive threatened to revoke prescription-writing licenses for physicians and pharmacists who filled orders for life-ending drugs.

Under the Oregon law, called the Death with Dignity Act, terminally ill patients must get certification from two doctors stating they are of sound mind and have less than six months to live. A prescription for lethal drugs is then written by the doctor and administered by the patients themselves.

Ashcroft issued the directive in 2001 declaring that assisting suicide was not a legitimate medical purpose under the Controlled Substances Act and that prescribing federally controlled drugs for that purpose was against the law.

So much for "States Rights", Oregon voters have approved this procedure twice.