X-Message-Number: 8769
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 13:34:17 -0700
From: David Brandt-Erichsen <>
Subject: Feds trying to block Oregon law
From the LOS ANGELES TIMES
(Weds Nov 12/97; page A21)
DEA Warning Crimps Lethal Prescriptions in Oregon
SALEM, Ore. -- A week after Oregon voters affirmed the state's law
allowing doctor-assisted suicide, some physicians are holding off
on writing prescriptions for lethal drugs for fear of being
punished by the federal government.
Despite what Oregon voters say, the Drug Enforcement
Administration is warning doctors that they risk losing their
licenses to write prescriptions if they help someone commit
suicide.
"If I were to lose my DEA license, my practice would close," Dr.
Peter Rasmussen, an outspoken supporter of assisted suicide, said
Tuesday.
Oregon approved a law three years ago that permits doctors to
dispense drugs for the purpose of suicide, but legal challenges
prevented it from taking effect. Voters reaffirmed the law last
week when a ballot question seeking the law's repeal was defeated.
However, DEA Administrator Thomas Constantine warned that doctors
who take part in assisted suicides would be violating federal
narcotics law and risk losing their licenses to prescribe drugs.
Physicians are licensed to practice medicine by the states, but it
is the DEA that registers doctors to prescribe drugs.
The Justice Department, which would be responsible for enforcing
such a revocation, has yet to determine if the DEA position is a
correct reading of federal law, department spokesman Gregory King
said.
The quandary has left Oregon doctors confused and worried.
"It's a big deal," said James Kronenberg, spokesman for the Oregon
Medical Assn.
"We're telling them, 'You may lose your DEA license. They're not
fooling.' "
Oregon's senators disagree over what is to be done.
Republican Gordon Smith, who opposes assisted suicide, said he let
the White House know that he agrees with the DEA and that state
law must be consistent with federal law.
"It is not unreasonable for the federal government to have concern
about this," he said. "This is not a small issue, and this is not
a practice which will stop at the borders of Oregon."
Democrat Ron Wyden, who also opposes assisted suicide, said the
federal government should nonetheless abide by the will of Oregon
voters.
"The people of Oregon voted 'no' on the repeal" of the law, Wyden
said, "and what I'm telling the Clinton administration and the
congressional leadership is: 'What part of "no" do you folks not
understand?' "
------------
From the Oregonian:
November 10, 1997
Utah Sen. Hatch vows to fight Oregon's assisted suicide law
His committee oversees the Justice Department, and he will push to
prosecute any doctor who aids in a suicide
By Jim Barnett of The Oregonian staff
_________________________________________________________________
WASHINGTON- Despite the public objections of Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee vowed Sunday
to continue a legal campaign against Oregon's assisted-suicide law.
"I'm going to encourage the Justice Department to prosecute any
doctor that prescribes drugs to kill people, that are
illegitimately prescribed under our federal laws," Sen. Orrin
Hatch, R-Utah, told The Oregonian.
Since voters in Tuesday's election reaffirmed Oregon's 1994
physician-assisted suicide law, it has come under heavy scrutiny
and attack in Washington.
A day after the election, the Drug Enforcement Administration wrote
a letter to Hatch and House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill.,
concluding that federal law would prohibit doctors from prescribing
drugs for suicide.
The letter came in response to an inquiry Hatch and Hyde made
earlier this year. The chairmen said Congress would "have a serious
concern" if the agency allowed doctors to make suicide
prescriptions.
In an interview Sunday evening, Hatch said his objections to
Oregon's assisted-suicide law were personal as well as legal.
Federal interven tion is appropriate and necessary, Hatch said.
"I not only think it's a good idea, I think it's essential if
that's the kind of law it's going to be, that you can let doctors
kill people," Hatch said. "I just don't think we should go down
that slippery slope. I feel really deeply about it."
Although Hatch has no direct authority over DEA actions, his
committee oversees the agency and the entire Justice Department.
Support from Hatch and Hyde would be critical if DEA officials
threaten to punish offending doctors by stripping them of their
right to prescribe drugs.
Meanwhile, Wyden took to the Senate floor Sunday afternoon to
object to any federal action against the assisted-suicide law,
saying it would amount to inappropriate meddling in state affairs.
"It seems to me the Clinton administration and the Drug Enforcement
Administration have plenty to do right now other than to meddle in
the internal affairs of the state of Oregon," Wyden said.
Wyden said he had deep personal reservations about assisted suicide
and had voted against the practice on several occasions. But the
federal government should respect the will of Oregon voters, he
said.
"When the people have spoken - and in this case, the people of my
state have spoken twice - it's time for the federal government to
back off," Wyden said.
Although he did not reveal his next possible step, Hatch said he
would continue to fight the Oregon law - even over the objections
of Wyden and other members of the state's congressional delegation.
"I don't see where a senator's objection is valid if it's against
the law, if it's contrary to the law," Hatch said. "It's one thing
to have an emotional or sociological viewpoint. It's another thing
to have a viewpoint that is contrary to the law itself."
Hatch said he had not discussed the matter with his friend and
ally, Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. Hatch said that he would "not
necessarily" ask for Smith's assistance.
Smith said in an interview Friday that he opposed
physician-assisted suicide and would support the Clinton
administration's efforts to render the law inoperable.
"In the end, Oregon state law will have to be consistent with
federal law if it is to be operable," Smith said.
Hatch said he would prefer not to intervene in Oregon's affairs,
but federal law would trump any state measure that is contrary.
"We're talking about food and drug law," Hatch said. "That's a
federal, pre-emptive law. Normally, I don't like to interfere with
the states. When you're talking about killing people in violation
of food and drug laws- and federal laws- then I think that's where
you draw the line."
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