The U.S. Supreme Court
today agreed to review a
decision of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit striking
down a directive issued
by former Attorney
General John Ashcroft,
which banned the use of
federally controlled
drugs for assisted
suicide. The Ashcroft
directive was challenged
by the State of Oregon,
which had legalized
assisted suicide by
allowing doctors to
issue lethal drug
prescriptions for the
terminally ill. The
directive effectively
stated that prescribing
federally controlled
drugs, such as the
deadly doses of
pain-killers used to
assist in suicide,
violated federal law.
The Ninth Circuit held
that Ashcroft had
exceeded his authority
and improperly
interpreted federal law
in issuing the
directive.
"An all-out legal
effort in support of the
Ashcroft directive must
be made before the U.S.
Supreme Court, just as
it was made in support
of the New York and
Washington state
assisted suicide bans
several years ago," said
James Bopp, Jr.,
President of the
National Legal Center
for the Medically
Dependent & Disabled,
Inc., a national legal
organization opposed to
assisted suicide and
euthanasia. According
to Bopp, the Ashcroft
directive deprives
assisted suicide and
euthanasia advocates
their "favorite deadly
weapons" – doctors
prescribing lethal doses
of drugs. "Assisted
suicide and euthanasia
will never achieve the
social and legal
acceptance that their
advocates yearn for if
they involve gun shots
in hearts and plastic
bags over heads. "
The National Legal
Center has been involved
in death and dying cases
for twenty years, and it
was at the forefront of
efforts to resist
legalization of assisted
suicide and euthanasia
through the courts. "We
will be coordinating all
parties interested in
participating in amicus
briefs before the U.S.
Supreme Court in this
case," said Bopp. He
noted that the case
presented a potential
multitude of
constitutional,
regulatory, historical,
and medical issues that
deserve more focused
attention than the
government can provide
in its brief. "We
intend to assure that
each of these issues is
addressed by interested
amici and to avoid
repetition and
redundancy."
Bopp urged
organizations interested
in submitting amicus
briefs in support of the
Ashcroft directive to
contact him or another
counsel for the National
Legal Center at
812-232-2434. The
assisted suicide case
now before the Supreme
Court is now officially
titled, Gonzales v.
Oregon, No. 04-623. The
Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals decision in the
case is reported as
State of Oregon v.
Ashcroft, 368 F.3d 1118
(9th Cir. 2004).