State of Oregon, et al.
Respondents
Peter Shepherd, Counsel of Record In November 1994, through a ballot initiative, the voters of the State of Oregon passed the Death With Dignity Act (DWDA), allowing physicians to legally prescribe prescription drugs, like morphine, that terminally ill patients could use to commit suicide. To date, Oregon is the only State to legalize physician-assisted suicide. On November 9, 2001, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft ruled that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) prohibits any Oregon physician from administering a federally controlled substance under the DWDA. According to Ashcroft, a doctor who violates the CSA could have his or her Federal license…
