Gabriella Shook
Plaintiff- State of Oregon Defendant- Attorney General John Ashcroft, then Alberto Gonzales org/historyfacts/gonzalesvore gon
Controlled Substances Act 1970 Death with Dignity Act
Did the Controlled Substances Act authorize the attorney general to ban the use of controlled substances for physician-assisted suicide in Oregon?
District ruled in favor of the Plaintiff Ashcroft overstepped his authority Appeals ruled in favor of the Plaintiff Ashcroft’s decision unconstitutional State’s rights
Gonzales replaced Ashcroft Agreed that Ashcroft’s directive was consistent with the intentions of the Controlled Substances Act Federal uniformity vs. state sovereignty
Ashcroft/Gonzales supporters: To restrain misuse of prescriptions, must ban assisted suicide Oregon’s argument: Ashcroft had no authority under Controlled Substances Act Legitimate medical purpose Majority of Americans agree with assisted suicide State choice, not federal
Majority (6): Justice Anthony Kennedy CSA regulated drug misuse, not medical practices Dissenting (3): Justice Thomas Gonzales v. Raich: CSA regulates how drugs are used; if only intended to rid of addictive drugs, then marijuana should be legal; contradicts case of Gonzales v. Oregon Ashcroft reasonable interpretation
State debate Montana, Washington, Vermont Brittany Maynard 29 Terminal brain cancer-6 months Loss of cognitive and motor skills
“Gonzales v. Oregon (formerly Oregon v. Ashcroft) ( ),” Cornell University Law School: Legal Information Institute; available from Internet; accessed 18 November "GONZALES v. OREGON," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed November 24, 2014, /2005/2005_04_ /2005/2005_04_623 “The Supreme Court of the United States,” Supreme Court of the United States; available from Internet; accessed 18 November 2014.