Oregon’s Doctors Assist Multiple Suicides

In 2002, thirty-eight people in the state of Oregon killed themselves with the assistance of a doctor, according to a recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is the highest annual number of assisted suicides in Oregon since the state legalized this horrendous practice in 1997. The number of individuals deciding to end their life in this fashion per year has more than doubled since 16 people used their deadly prescriptions in 1998. When assisted suicide was first sold to the citizens of Oregon, proponents said the main reason was to spare dying people from living in pain; however, most of the 38 people cited “lack of autonomy” as the reason for their decision. Oregon is the only state in our nation that has legalized assisted suicide despite the persistent efforts of pro-death organizations.

In 2001, prolife U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft directed federal drug agents to revoke or suspend the licenses of doctors who prescribed the lethal doses of drugs since the drugs are all federally controlled substances and their use must comply with the regulations of the Controlled Substance Act. Unfortunately, his directive was stopped when District Court Judge Robert Jones upheld Oregon’s assisted-suicide law. Ashcroft has appealed the decision and a hearing is scheduled for May 7 in the 9th Circuit Court.

Instead of focusing on eliminating the pain of patients, assisted suicide focuses on eliminating the life of the patient. Doctors who decide to assist in the death of an individual have turned their backs on their basic calling to “do no harm.” Right to Life of Michigan opposes all attempts to legalize or condone assisted suicide and fully supports efforts to alleviate a patient’s pain. Our resources as a society must be focused on supporting life, not destroying it.

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