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opinion:
our view
Federal
judge sticks it to Ashcroft
According to a federal judge, Attorney General John Ashcroft
grossly overstepped his power when he issued a statute that
would effectively block Oregon doctors from prescribing medication
for assisted suicide.
Ashcroft's directive
stated that any physicians who prescribed assisted suicide
drugs or even large amounts of pain medication would have
their licenses revoked. Ashcroft felt that physician assisted
suicide does not fall within the scope of "legitimate
medical practice" covered in the statute for federally
registered drugs.
U.S. District Judge
Robert Jones disagreed, as do we.
Oregon became the
only state with an assisted suicide law in 1997 after a state
ballot initiative. Since the law took effect, 141 prescriptions
were issued resulting in 91 physician-assisted deaths. Some
of the 141 patients died without their prescriptions and some
have not yet used them.
Ashcroft is not
an elected official. The attorney general appointment changes
with each new presidential administration. When President
Bush took office, he chose to appoint a man who is very religious
and may have a moral standard that is much higher than many
people's.
But Ashcroft was
wrong to overstep his authority and dictate legislation that
went against the will of the people of Oregon and was more
than likely motivated by his own personal beliefs.
Jones should be
commended for deciding with the people of Oregon. He recognized
that terminally ill people have a right to take control of
their own lives and deaths with the help of a medical professional.
A non-elected politician in Washington, D.C. should not dictate
that right.
Even more important,
Jones' directive secured the rights of Oregon physicians to
confidently provide adequate and appropriate pain care to
dying patients without fear of the Drug Enforcement Administration
charging them with a crime.
It is sad that
the government is continually second-guessing the will of
state voters, first with California's medical marijuana proposition
and now with Oregon's assisted suicide law.
This country was
founded with the understanding that the will of the people
will govern. An appointed official who is personally more
governed by Christian fundamentalist morality should not have
the right to quell or stifle the will of the citizens.
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