Oregon v. Ashcroft

A doctor, a pharmacist, several terminally ill patients, and the State of Oregon challenge an interpretive rule issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft.which declares that physician assisted suicide violates the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (“CSA”), 21 U.S.C. §§ 801-904 . This so-called “Ashcroft Directive,” published at 66 Fed.Reg. 56,607, criminalizes conduct specifically authorized by Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, Or.Rev.Stat. § 127.800-127.897. We hold that the Ashcroft Directive is unlawful and unenforceable because it violates the plain language of the CSA, contravenes Congress’ express legislative intent, and oversteps the .bounds of the Attorney General’s statutory authority. See 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(C), (D). The petitions for review are granted.

I

We have original jurisdiction over “final determinations, findings, and conclusions of the Attorney General” made under the CSA. 21 U.S.C. § 877 . Because the Attorney General maintains that his interpretive rule is a “final determination” and because the Directive orders sanctions for violations of its provisions, we have original jurisdiction pursuant to § 877. See Hemp Indus. Ass’n v. DEA, 333 F.3d 1082, 1085 (9th…

dissenting:

As my colleagues in the majority suggest, this case is not about the ethics or public policy implications of physician-assisted suicide. We need not decide whether the federal government or the states is better equipped to regulate physician-assisted suicide. Setting aside the public policy aspects of physician-assisted suicide that evoke passionate feelings, this case involves a single legal question: is the Attorney General’s interpretation of 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04 (a) entitled to deference? Because our past decisions command deference to the Attorney General’s interpre-five rule, I would deny the petition for review on the merits.

I.

The Oregon Death with Dignity Act (Oregon Act) provides that a capable adult who “has been determined by the attending physician and consulting physician to be suffering from a terminal disease, and who has voluntarily expressed his or her wish to die, may make a written request for medication for the purpose of ending his or her life in a humane and dignified manner.” OR. REV. STAT. § 127.805(1). Once various safeguards have been satisfied, the attending physician may “writ[e] a prescription for medication to enable a qualified…