Excerpt
UPDATE on Jan. 17, 2006: Download the Ruling
In November 1994, 51 percent of Oregon voters approved the Death With Dignity Act by ballot initiative, making it the first State in the Nation to allow physicians to assist terminally ill patients in ending their own lives.
The Oregon law created a carefully regulated process for the prescription of life-ending drugs, such as barbiturates and morphine, to patients with less than six months to live. Under the law, a patient must be of sound mind, have made two requests for life-ending drugs separated by 15 days, have had his or her condition verified by a second physi…
In This Issue
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Foreword
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The Death With Dignity Act
Overview of Oregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Law
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Lower Court Holding
Decision of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
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Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in During Oral Arguments
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Opinion of the Court
The CSA Does Not Allow the Attorney General to Prohibit Doctors From Assisting in Suicides.
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Pro & Con
Does the Controlled Substances Act Prohibit Doctors From Prescribing Lethal Drugs to Dying Patients?
