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Stemming the Tide: Assisted Suicide and the Constitution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Carl H. Coleman  and
Tracy E. Miller
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Extract

On November 8, 1994, Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize assisted suicide. Passage of Proposition 16 was a milestone in the campaign to make assisted suicide a legal option. The culmination of years of effort, the Oregon vote followed on the heels of failed referenda in California and Washington, and other unsuccessful attempts to enact state laws guaranteeing the right to suicide assistance. Indeed, in 1993, four states passed laws strengthening or clarifying their ban against assisted suicide. No doubt, Proposition 16 is likely to renew the effort to legalize assisted suicide at the state level.

The battle over assisted suicide is also unfolding in the courts. Litigation challenging Proposition 16 on the grounds that it violates the equal protection clause is ongoing in Oregon. More significantly, three cases, two in federal courts and one in Michigan state court, have been brought to establish assisted suicide as a constitutionally protected right.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 23 , Issue 4 , Winter 1995 , pp. 389 - 397
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1995

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