The Supremes and physician assisted suicide

5 Oct
2005

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Oregon’s Assisted-Suicide Law

As I have written previously I am morally against physician assisted suicide. In my mind this action crosses an ethical line which troubles me.

However, I also consider myself a libertarian and a supporter of States’ Rights. While I disagree personally with the Oregon law, I must support their right to develop statute on this issue.

This decision would make an outstanding test question for law students. The issues are very complex. I personally must separate my personal philosophy about physician assisted suicide (strongly against) from the implications of the Attorney General being able to prosecute physicians who choose to help patients in need.

While I believe that physician assisted suicide leads to a slippery slope, so does a decision in favor of the Federal Government being able to prosecute physicians.

So I hope the Supreme Court will deny the Attorney General’s office their motion. And I hope other states refrain from passing such laws.

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Related posts:

  1. Physician assisted suicide – the Oregon experience
  2. Previous writings on physician assisted suicide
  3. Is the Oregon assisted suicide law legal?
  4. Medpundit on euthanasia
  5. Breast implants and suicide

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5 Responses to The Supremes and physician assisted suicide

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james gaulte

October 5th, 2005 at 6:00 pm

I had planned to post on this topic and planned to say exactly what you said.No need now. I’ll just agree with you.

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Japhy

October 5th, 2005 at 6:51 pm

i thought i’d comment since i attended oral arguments this morning. o’connor seemed very skeptical of the ag’s ability to regulate medicine in this manner. she asked several hard nosed questions comparing pas and doctor’s involvement with state-sanctioned killing of inmates. ginsburg was also very dismissive of the feds argument. that being said, what will be interesting is to see when o’connor is actually replaced. if she is not replaced before the opinion is written, she will get to vote. if that happens, i think the law will be upheld.

also, i am curious to understand more about your moral objections to oregon’s law. is it that physicians should only heal patients, not harm them? i ask because, the oregon law was very well crafted to prevent much of the abuses that so concerned people (regarding euthanasia, and discrimination of minorities or those of low ses).

regardless, the argument this morning was very well done by both oregon and the solicitor general.

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Laurie

October 5th, 2005 at 8:37 pm

We’ve been talking about this in the office. I wonder if you agree that this has an effect on the “off label” use of medications. If the question is ‘can narcotic prescriptions be used to assist a hastened death?’ which is clearly an “off label,” use for narcotics and the answer is “no, they can’t be Rx’d that way,” then will this decision open a can of worms that requires drug companies to submit for FDA approval for all current off label uses for their drugs? This will really bog the system down and open prescribers’ to suit for any off label prescriptions.

Laurie Anderson, RNP

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Alice

October 11th, 2005 at 6:40 pm

I’ll agree to support states’ rights for Oregon, if those judges can reason far enough to then apply that same standard to states’ anti-abortion laws. Surely if one state can decide to kill its elderly, another state can decide not to kill its babies. And maybe if this were permitted, it would promote a more civil society. People who like euthanasia can move to Oregon, and people who don’t like abortion can move to Kansas.

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Angel

November 29th, 2005 at 3:29 pm

Is there hard evidence that a “slipper slope” has occurred or is occuring in the state of Oregon? What abuses would come about if PAS is legalized? A physician killing patients? I strongly doubt it since PAS is what it is…suicide with the assistance of a physician. In other words, a physician will only provide the patient (requester) with the tool so that they’ll use it along to terminate their own life. My understand of suicide is termination of one’s own life meaning that no one else played a role in that person’s suicide. Suicide is the action of one person and one person only. Say for instance, if someone provides me with a gun, and I use that gun to blow my brains out, does that mean that the person who provided the gun killed me? Same concept applies to PAS. Again, is there concret evidence that a “slipper slope” has occurred or will occur? Thanks.

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