clares that “…I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me (Isaiah). ” Not only did God create us, He ordained every second of our lives. For a person to take a life is deny another from reaching his full potential that God planned. Within one month after the law passed, Thomas Constantine, the administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency wrote a policy statement. He stated that prescribing drugs to help terminally ill patients kill themselves would be a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Oregon’s physicians’ prescription writing authority could be canceled if found in violation of the policy (Oregon 53). The issue resurfaced on March 26, 1998, when an eighty-year-old woman died from a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by her doctor (Meier 43). Bob Castagna, spokesperson for the Oregon Catholic Conference said: “This is a tragic and sad day for Oregon and the United States. Assisted suicide has begun in the state of Oregon to our profound regret and sorrow. May God have mercy on all of us (Johnson 32). ” Attorney Janet Reno reversed Constantine’s ruling by mid-1998. She stated “that doctors who use the law to prescribe lethal drugs to terminally-ill patients will not be prosecuted… the drug laws were intended to block illegal trafficking in drugs and did not cover situations like the Oregon suicide law (Oregon 54). ” Attorney General John Ashcroft recently made an announcement that Oregon’s law on physician-assisted suicide is legally wrong according to federal laws. He said that the Oregon euthanasia law should be stopped immediately after November 6, 2001(NBC). He ruled in on the side of the Oregon Right to Life, but the government of Oregon has stated that they will appeal the policy in court. He has reverted back to Constantine’s ruling (NBC). In the meantime, doctors will be allowed to co...
