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November 5, Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed a ruling by
his predecessor Janet Reno that led to the legalization of assisted
suicide in Oregon. Since the state's "Death With Dignity"
act took effect in 1998, at least 70 terminally ill patients have
killed themselves with the help of a doctor's pen. Oregon is the
only state with such a law on the books.
The Reno-era
ruling allowed doctors to prescribe federally controlled substances
to patients who wanted to die. Ashcroft countered that assisted
suicide is not a "legitimate medical purpose for prescribing,
dispensing, or administering federally controlled substances."
In a letter to Drug Enforcement Administration head Asa Hutchinson,
the attorney general demanded the suspension or revocation of the
drug licenses of doctors who assist suicides in such a manner. He
based the reversal on a Supreme Court ruling from earlier in the
year that barred the sale of marijuana for medical use.
Ashcroft's
move effectively invalidates Oregon's assisted-suicide law. The
state's attorney general plans to contest the ruling in a federal
court Wednesday.
In the spirit
of compassionate conservatism, the attorney general encouraged
doctors to prescribe controlled substances for pain management when
necessary. Indeed, in the states that have passed laws prohibiting
assisted suicides, a renewed emphasis on pain management has been
a lifesaver for seriously ill patients.
Yet, at a time when America wages a just war on terrorism and those
with no concern for human life, a culture of death still thrives
within our borders. It's a broad and dangerous culture that frees
medical professionals to swiftly remove the most vulnerable among
us — the unborn, the elderly, and the terminally sick. That
Ashcroft is moving to wage war against this homeland affront is
an excellent, if not prescient, development.
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