Way back in pre-history (before September 11, 2001; everything's different now you know), St John Ashcroft issued a federal decree. Said decree stated that if a doctor wrote a prescription for drugs that could end someone's life, that doctor's prescription writing priviledges would be terminated. This decree was a frontal assault on Oregon's assisted suicide law.
The legal basis of that decree will now be considered by the Supreme Court. Never mind that the voters of Oregon have approved assisted suicide initiatives twice in the past. That's not the legal principle at issue.
The Bush Administration's legal challenge is to the proper use of controlled substances. They have completely sidestepped the issue of ethics and assisted suicide. Their position is that it is illegal to use these drugs for purposes of assisting suicide.
This is not only a frontal assault on assisted suicide, but on state's rights as well. These "conservatives" have done more for federal powers than any president in recent history.
Oregon's governor, Ted Kulongowski, has issued an eloquent statement I have reproduced below. He says it much better than I could:
"I am disappointed by the decision announced today by the United States Supreme Court. The people of Oregon have approved Oregon's Death with Dignity Act - not once, but twice - and the lower courts have upheld Oregon's law - not once, but twice."
"While politics has driven the appeals of the lower courts decisions on this law, I am confident that now that politics are put aside, the Supreme Court will review the arguments of this case and ultimately side with the rights of Oregonians as citizens of a sovereign state."
"I am also confident that Attorney General Hardy Myers' record of success in the lower courts will deliver a third and final victory on behalf of the citizens of Oregon who have a fundamental right to autonomy and to control their own destiny."
Now, torture king Alberto Gonzales, that fine man so concerned with the dignity of human life, will be George's flag bearer in the Supreme Court. To me, this seems all about control. You will not do with your body what we deem unacceptable, even if it means alleviating intense pain for you and your family.
Gonzales and Bush must have really boring lives if they can find no more constructive use of their time than sticking their nose in someone's horribly tragic decision to ethically end their own life.