U.S. Presses Supreme Court to Block Doctors From Helping Terminally Ill Patients End Their Lives
Wednesday, October 05, 2005 10:42:46 AM

The Bush administration pressed the Supreme Court on Wednesday to block doctors from helping terminally ill patients end their lives, arguing that Oregon's law allowing physician-assisted suicide violates federal drug laws.

"The most natural reading of the (federal) Controlled Substances Act is ... this falls within the authority of the attorney general," said Solicitor General Paul Clement, arguing on behalf of the Bush administration.

Oregon is the only state that lets dying patients obtain lethal doses of medication from their doctors, although other states may pass laws of their own if the high court rules against the federal government. Voters in Oregon have twice endorsed doctor-assisted suicide, but the Bush administration has aggressively challenged the state law. The rest