SUICIDE LAW IN OREGON WINS ROUND IN U.S. COURT

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 20 - A move by Attorney General John Ashcroft to
overturn an Oregon law permitting assisted suicide suffered a setback today
when a federal judge extended a restraining order against it for at least
four months.

The restraining order nullifies a Nov. 6 directive by Mr. Ashcroft that
authorized federal agents to act against doctors prescribing lethal drugs
for terminally ill patients.

Oregon is the only state where people are allowed to kill themselves with
drugs prescribed by a doctor. Under the state's voter-approved Death with
Dignity Act, a terminally ill patient may take the lethal drugs if two
doctors agree that the person has less than six months to live and is
mentally competent to decide whether to end his life.

The judge, Robert E. Jones of Federal District Court, also ruled that the
case would move directly to a trial based on the final merits, in effect
skipping the preliminary injunction hearing process.

The judge asked that the State of Oregon and patients' lawyers file motions
for summary judgment within 60 days, after which the federal government
would have 30 days to respond, and the state an additional 14 days to reply.
After that, Judge Jones expected a swift hearing and a decision within 30
days.

In oral arguments today, lawyers for the State of Oregon, which brought the
suit, said Janet Reno, the attorney general during the Clinton
administration, had already considered the issue of federal power versus
state power in this matter and decided that the power rested with the state
and that there was no precedent for another attorney general overturn that
interpretation.

They also said the federal government did not give required notice of its
directive or the opportunity for a public hearing.

Lawyers for terminally ill patients who joined the suit argued that the
patients would bear the greatest hardship if the restraining order were
lifted.

Gregory Katsas, a lawyer from the Justice Department's headquarters in
Washington, argued that the case was not about regulating medicine generally
but regulating medicine under the Controlled Substances Act.

In his directive, Mr. Ashcroft said that "prescribing, dispensing or
administering federally controlled substances to assist suicide" violated
the act, which was passed by Congress in 1970.

"We say that federal law controls the determination of what is legitimate
within the meaning of federal regulations, they say state law trumps federal
law," Mr. Katsas said. "No references are made to state law in this
statute."