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Administrative Law Keyed to Mawshaw
Gonzales v. Oregon
Citation:
546 U.S. 243 (2006)Facts
In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize assisted suicide when voters approved the Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODWDA). The law exempts from civil or criminal liability state-licensed physicians who, in compliance with specific safeguards, dispense or prescribe a lethal dose of drugs upon the request of a terminally ill patient. The drugs prescribed under ODWDA are regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which allows these drugs to be available only by prescription from a registered physician.
In 1997, members of Congress asked the DEA to take action against Oregon physicians who prescribed drugs under ODWDA, arguing that assisting suicide was not legitimate medical practice. Attorney General Janet Reno concluded that the CSA did not authorize federal officials to override a state’s determination of what constitutes legitimate medical practice. In 2001, however, newly appointed Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed this position and issued an Interpretive Rule declaring that using controlled substances to assist suicide is not a “legitimate medical purpose” under federal regulations and violates the CSA. This rule would effectively nullify Oregon’s ODWDA, as every prescription filled under the Act has involved controlled substances.
Oregon, joined by a physician, a pharmacist, and several terminally ill patients, challenged the Interpretive Rule in federal court. The case ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which had to determine whether the CSA authorized the Attorney General to prohibit doctors from prescribing regulated drugs for assisted suicide in states where it was legal.
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