Washington D.C., Jan 17, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Attorney General does not have the authority to halt Oregon doctors from helping terminally ill patients to kill themselves.
The case, Gonzales vs. the State of Oregon, protects--for now--a one-of-a-kind physician assisted suicide law called the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. Opponents say that the practice is hopelessly immoral and violates a doctor’s Hippocratic Oath of protecting life and preventing harm to patients.
The Supreme Court said that the Bush administration improperly attempted to use a federal drug act to regulate and punish doctors who tried to prescribe lethal drugs to terminal patients.
The decision came on a 6-3 vote, with new Chief Justice John Roberts, along with Justices Thomas and Scalia, dissenting.