Assisted suicide lobby challenges Oregon assisted suicide residency requirement in court.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Since the inception of the first US assisted suicide law in the state of Oregon, the assisted suicide lobby has been trying to extend assisted suicide to all 50 US states. 

Last year I wrote about the attempt by the assisted suicide lobby to use Covid 19 guidelines to permit assisted suicide by telehealth (Link to article). Assisted suicide by telehealth may extend approvals for assisted suicide to all 50 US states.

Last week, Compassion and Choices, an assisted suicide lobby group, and Dr Nicholas Gideones, a doctor who prescribes assisted suicide drug cocktails, launched a court case to challenge the Oregon assisted suicide residency requirement. By eliminating the "residency requirement" the assisted suicide lobby would be able to assist the suicide of Americans who is able to go to Oregon. The lawsuit has been filed in the federal court, claims that the residency requirement is unconstitutional. (Link to news article).

I am not a lawyer but I am of the opinion that this case should be dismissed.

First, assisted suicide is not medical treatment. The assisted suicide lobby want prescribing a lethal drug cocktail to be labeled as health care, but it simply is not health care.

Secondly, there is no right to medical care in the US.

Third, the Supreme Court did not find a right to assisted suicide in Washington v Glucksberg or Vacco v Quill. States may legalize assisted suicide but it is not protected by the Equal Protection Clause.

There maybe more to this case. The patients that Gideones is supposedly "fighting for" live in Washington State where assisted suicide is legal and have access to assisted suicide. Since these are patients who have access to assisted suicide already, does this case concern financial gain? Gideones states that he provides other treatments for Washington state patients but not assisted suicide.

The court needs to recognize that this court case is similar to a "hail mary" pass. Instead of wasting court time, the case should be quickly evaluated and dismissed.