Court rejects federal effort to prohibit physician-assisted suicide

Published: 2006-01-17

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court Jan. 17 upheld Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law, rejecting the U.S. attorney general's attempt to use federal drug control laws to stop doctors from prescribing lethal doses of medicine to people who are terminally ill. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said although the federal government may apply drug laws to states, the "authority claimed by the attorney general is both beyond his expertise and incongruous with the statutory purposes and design." If the attorney general's argument were to stand, the government could apply the same logic to other types of medical judgments, Kennedy wrote. "He could decide whether any particular drug may be used for any particular purpose, or indeed whether a physician who administers any controversial treatment could be deregistered," or effectively barred from practicing medicine, Kennedy wrote. The attorney general would have such power even though the law limits his authority to the registration and control of drugs "and despite the statutory purposes to combat drug abuse and prevent illicit drug trafficking," he said.

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