ACLJ: Supreme Court Has Opportunity to Halt Physician-Assisted Suicide

February 22, 2005

(Washington, DC) - The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focussing on constitutional law, said todays decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to take an appeal by the Bush administration concerning the legality of Oregons assisted-suicide law is an important opportunity for the court to give federal drug agents the power to take action against doctors who assist terminally ill patients commit suicide. 

The federal government must have the opportunity to legally prohibit physicians from prescribing life-ending medication to assist patients to commit suicide, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which has filed briefs in support of the governments position in this case.  The Attorney General clearly has the authority to use a federal statute to prevent physicians from assisting in ending the lives of terminally ill patients.  The governments position is sound and constitutional.  And, we are hopeful the high court will ultimately determine that federal drug laws must take precedence over the states control of medicine.

In a directive issued by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001, the government said that assisting in suicide is not a legitimate medical purpose and stated that physicians who prescribed life-ending drugs would lose their licenses to prescribe federally controlled drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. 

A federal district court and an appeals court blocked the Department of Justice from implementing that directive.

The Supreme Court said today it would hear the case.  And, the ACLJ said it will file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the governments position.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.