Appeals court refuses to rehear assisted suicide case
- Aug 13, 2004
Appeals court refuses to rehear assisted suicide case
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Justice Department’s request for reconsideration of the court’s May decision blocking a federal ban on the use of drugs to aid patients in committing suicide in Oregon.
The appeals court announced its decision Aug. 16. The Justice Department had urged the Ninth Circuit to rehear the case as an 11-member body. That request came after a three-judge panel voted 2-1 to uphold a federal judge’s injunction blocking enforcement of Attorney General John Ashcroft’s 2001 order that barred the use of federally regulated drugs for the purpose of assisting patients in committing suicide.
The Justice Department’s only judicial recourse is to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
In a November 2001 directive, Ashcroft declared the use of drugs regulated by the federal Controlled Substances Act in assisted suicide is not allowed. While his ruling did not overturn Oregon law, it meant physicians who prescribe or pharmacists who distribute federally controlled substances to aid in suicide may have their licenses to prescribe and dispense such drugs rescinded.
A total of 171 persons have died by assisted suicide in Oregon, which is the only state that has legalized the practice.