Assisted Suicide Case Opens

The issue of doctor-assisted suicide yesterday became the first case to be heard by the US supreme court under the leadership of a new chief justice.

In a case that could have ramifications across the US, the Bush administration urged the judges to block doctors in Oregon from helping terminally ill patients end their lives, arguing that the state's laws violate federal drug laws. Oregon is the only state that lets dying patients obtain lethal doses of medication from doctors, although if the supreme court finds against the federal government other states may pass laws effectively allowing euthanasia for the terminally ill.

The case is also likely to be closely watched as it may indicate the court's direction under the new chief justice, John Roberts. Voters in Oregon have twice endorsed doctor-assisted suicide, but the Bush administration has aggressively challenged the state law. Solicitor general Paul Clement argued that Oregon law is unconstitutional because it depends on an improper use of medication by doctors and violates federal drug laws. But his position was challenged by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who asked if federal drug laws also prevented doctors from participating in the execution of murderers.

Justice O'Connor, who has held the balance of power between the court's liberals and conservatives, is retiring, and on Monday George Bush named a White House lawyer, Harriet Miers, to replace her. If Mrs Miers is confirmed before a ruling is announced, Justice O'Connor's vote will not count. A 4-4 tie would probably require a new argument session. Spectators gathered outside court with signs supporting the Oregon law. "My Life, My Death, My Choice," read one.