ASSISTED SUICIDE IN OREGON

Last year in Oregon, 21 terminally ill people took lethal doses of
prescription medication because they wanted to die. Most were suffering
with end-stage cancer. Their median age was 68. In each case, two doctors
had confirmed that these patients had less than six months to live.

Twenty-one is not a big number. Overwhelmingly, terminally ill patients in
Oregon are choosing to die naturally.

But for some, their suffering and the suffering of their families is too
much. Why is it in the federal government's interest to force them to
endure it?

Last fall, less than a month after the terrorist attacks, Attorney General
John Ashcroft took time out to direct Drug Enforcement Administration
agents to take action against doctors who prescribe lethal drugs for the
terminally ill. The state of Oregon objected. A federal court is expected
to hear the case next month.

It's ironic that Republicans -- who generally prefer to cede power to the
states -- are trying to thwart the voters of Oregon. After all, voters
twice approved the Death With Dignity Act, both times after intense debate.

In fact, contrary to opponents' fears, few individuals are using this law.
And the idea of hastening one's death doesn't appear to be catching on. Two
years ago, 27 patients used prescription drugs to take their own lives,
compared to 21 last year. Less than half of those who received
prescriptions went on to use them.

On the issue of assisted suicide, Mr. Ashcroft and his friends have already
lost. In Michigan, juries refused to convict Dr. Jack Kevorkian until he
assisted a death on national TV. In Oregon, voters were barraged by moral
arguments against the Death With Dignity Act, but approved it anyway.

That's because so many citizens know someone who suffered a painful death.
Most don't think it's their business to tell others how to die.

Too bad the Bush administration isn't so reticent. It is using federal
power to impose rules that voters don't support.