Whitehouse wants suicide law blocked

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Well it looks like the next four years are going to be very interesting and very controversial to say the least. The feds (GWB, Ashcroft and the rest of the conservative Christian right wingers) have decided that the good people of Oregon should not be allowed to control their own laws despite the fact that the people of Oregon have decided some of these laws through their own election processes.

Whitehouse wants suicide law blocked

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Nov 10, 9:49 AM EST

White House wants suicide law blocked

By GINA HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer


SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft drew the ire of Oregon officials with one of his last official acts: Asking the U.S. Supreme Court to set aside the state's - and nation's only - assisted-suicide law.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski argued Tuesday that Oregon voters have twice endorsed the right of terminally ill patients to die more quickly and that "it's past time for this administration to focus on ways to work with Oregon - not against us."

Ashcroft's challenge had been expected since May, when a lower court ruled the federal government could not punish Oregon doctors who prescribed lethal doses of federally controlled drugs.

While not as prominent as abortion, the issue is an important one for conservative Christians, who helped President Bush win a second term last week. The government waited until Tuesday, the final day possible, to file paperwork at the high court.



Oregon's law, known as the Death With Dignity Act, lets patients with less than six months to live request a lethal dose of drugs after two doctors confirm the diagnosis and determine the person's mental competence to make the request.

A co-author of Oregon's law, Portland attorney Eli Stutsman, said Ashcroft's appeal to the Supreme Court is "politically inspired" and he said he is optimistic the court won't even agree to hear the case.

"We have won this case on the legal issues and we'll continue to win it on legal issues," Stutsman said. "The strength of our legal position is that the states have always regulated the practice of medicine."

Since 1998 more than 170 people have used Oregon's assisted suicide law to end their lives. The Bush administration has argued that assisted suicide is not a "legitimate medical purpose" and that doctors take an oath to heal patients, not help them die.

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"Killing patients is not medical care," said James Bopp, a Right-to-Life lawyer based in Terre Haute, Ind. "What you have in Oregon is the equivalent of putting a gun to a patient's head and pulling the trigger. They just use drugs to do it."

The Supreme Court probably will decide early next year whether it will review the case. The court has been hearing cases now with eight members, because Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist is under treatment for thyroid cancer.

The high court has dealt with right-to-die cases before. Justices held in 1997 that while Americans have no constitutional right to assisted suicide, states may decide the issue for themselves. And in 1990, the court ruled that terminally ill people can refuse life-sustaining medical treatment.

Eric Rakowski, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said Ashcroft's appeal appears to be more of a statement of solidarity with religious conservatives than a serious legal challenge.

"Maybe it's just a matter of showing them that this administration takes their interests to heart, knowing that the appeal is unlikely to get anywhere," Rakowski said.

Oregon is the only state that has an assisted suicide law, approved by voters in 1997, although leaders in other states have considered laws of their own. A bill is expected soon in the California Legislature.

At issue for the high court now would be the bounds of a federal law declaring what drugs doctors may prescribe. Traditionally states, not the federal government, regulate medical practices.

A federal judge and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco have ruled that federal officials do not have the power to circumvent the Oregon law to punish health professionals in Oregon.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Kennedy 0]

I wish people would see this as a grey scale, instead of insisting that it's black and white.

Proof?

We don't force people to stay on life support, right? When you unplug them, they die. It's a matter of drawing a line, not making some stupid stance on the sid eof good or evil.


ps - I don't know about all of you, but if I'm old, have put my affairs in order, and have said my goodbyes, I don't know how long I'd want o live in excrutiating pain.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[unformed 0]

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I wish people would see this as a grey scale, instead of insisting that it's black and white.

Proof?

We don't force people to stay on life support, right? When you unplug them, they die. It's a matter of drawing a line, not making some stupid stance on the sid eof good or evil.


ps - I don't know about all of you, but if I'm old, have put my affairs in order, and have said my goodbyes, I don't know how long I'd want o live in excrutiating pain.

I'm gonna make sure I personally own either a lethal dose of drugs or a gun. That way how much I am tortured isn't decided by some asswipe who thinks he knows how i should live my life.

This ad space for sale.

[Kennedy 0]

Do yourself, your relatives, and gun owners a favor -
. stick to the pain killer sleeping pill alcohol cocktail.

The gun is messy, possibly painful, and well, I don't like giving anti-gun people any more ammunition.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[PhillyKev 0]

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wish people would see this as a grey scale, instead of insisting that it's black and white.

I wish people would see this as a personal issue and choice instead of something that should be legislated at all.

[PhillyKev 0]

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I don't like giving anti-gun people any more ammunition.

Why not, they can't do anything with it anyway

[CanuckInUSA 0]

My concern here in SC isn't whether or not people agree or disagree with assisted suicide. It is that GWB, Ashcroft and their conservative Christian right base have already begun their attempts to change a law which the people of Oregon have voted on because they don't mesh with their morals.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Quote

Do yourself, your relatives, and gun owners a favor -
. stick to the pain killer sleeping pill alcohol cocktail.

The gun is messy, possibly painful, and well, I don't like giving anti-gun people any more ammunition.

I absolutely agree with you here. It's the same as myself doing myself in with skydiving or BASE jumping. I would be disrespecting these sports just as I would be disrespecting gun supporters if I was to shoot myself.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Kennedy 0]

Were you equally as concerned when someone posted the idea that we should overturn state sanctioned policies like California's three strikes, or Arizona's immigration, or other "radical" ideas from the right?

however, I agree that the idea of state's rights has been beaten like a redheaded stepchild, and it doesn't get any easier to accept.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[unformed 0]

Quote

Do yourself, your relatives, and gun owners a favor -
. stick to the pain killer sleeping pill alcohol cocktail.

The gun is messy, possibly painful, and well, I don't like giving anti-gun people any more ammunition.

I agree ... best bet would some strong opiates .... wouldn't like to use a gun anyways ...

didn't even think about the anti-gun coalition. i don't care much guns myself, but i respect your right to protect yourself by whatever means necessary .....

don't want those bastards taking away those rights either...

This ad space for sale.

[Shotgun 1]

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I agree ... best bet would some strong opiates

I think the most effective way would be to take a handful of good sleeping pills... Then right as you're about to pass out, put a couple of heavy-duty plastic bags over your head (secured with a tight band around your neck)...

Oh, maybe I shouldn't mention that. Next thing you know they'll be seeking a ban on sleeping pills and plastic bags (if they're not already!)... Gotta protect that Moral Fiber!

[Gravitymaster 0]

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wish people would see this as a grey scale, instead of insisting that it's black and white.

I wish people would see this as a personal issue and choice instead of something that should be legislated at all.

Gotta agree with you here. I can think of no more a personal decision than ones right to end their own life. Assuming depression or some other mental illness is not present, this should not even be a debatable issue.

[b1jercat 0]

I'll post what I know, about 40 or so people have used lethal prescriptions in Oregon. The people who have used this method to end their life have all been mentally sound and in control of their life. what I don't understand is the difference between someone ending their life by their own will and those people who are terminally medicated on a daily basics to supress their pain. It all ends in death for the patent. The white house can just BTFU IMHO.

blue skies

jerry