On January 17th, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of choice at the end of life. In a 6 to 3 decision, the court stated that the Attorney General's attempt to intervene in affairs of the state's aid-in-dying law exceeded his authority. The case, which was formerly known as Oregon v. Ashcroft, was changed to Gonzales v. Oregon due to the new Attorney General. Compassion & Choices represented a group of terminally-ill Oregonians in challenging the US Attorney General's effort to nullify the Oregon law.

The issue in question was whether the Controlled Substances Act allows the Attorney General to prohibit doctors from prescribing regulated drugs for use in physician-assisted suicide, in spite of a state law that allows the procedure. Oregon voters passed the Death with Dignity Act in November 1994 and again in November 1997. The law allows for a person who is terminally ill, 6 months from death, and of sound mind to request medication from a doctor that would end their life (they have to say that they will administer the medication themselves).

Compassion & Choices stated that it "will defend any Congressional attack on the Oregon law while aggressively pursuing similar legislation throughout the nation." The organization is pursuing a Compassion For a Nation campaign, an effort to ensure that every citizen in the US is able to exercise the same freedoms that Oregonians have. AB 651, the California Compassionate Choices Act, moves into legislative hearings this month. Read more on the Compassionate Choices Act Website

Compassion & Choices | Majority decision | State of Oregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Page