In November 1994, the voters of Oregon passed an initiative measure which allowed terminally ill patients to request a prescription of lethal drugs from a physician by which they could commit suicide. With the passage of this measure (“Measure 16”), Oregon became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalize physician-assisted suicide.
The measure was quickly challenged in court, and in August of 1995 declared unconstitutional based upon the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The judge’s opinion stated that Measure 16 created a classification of people (terminally ill diagnosed with less than 6 months to live) who were treated differently by no longer qualifying for protection against suicidal impulses as do the rest of Oregon citizens. His decision asked, “Where in the Constitution do we find distinctions between the terminally ill with six months to live, the terminally ill with one year to live, paraplegics, the disabled, or any category of people who have their own reasons for not wanting to continue living?”
The district court’s decision was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who, in February 1997, dismissed the case. The appellate court’s ruling was based not on the merits of the case, but on the decision that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge Measure 16. The case was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 1997 Oregon legislature returned Measure 16 back to the November 1997 ballot for reconsideration and repeal. This measure was called “Measure 51”. The repeal effort lost. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Assisted-suicide then became effective in Oregon in November of 1997.
Immediately following the repeal defeat, Congressman Henry Hyde released a letter from Thomas Constantine from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Constantine, in response to questions from Congressman Hyde, interpreted the DEA’s responsibility if controlled substances were to be used for something other than a “legitimate medical purpose” The DEA’s assessment was that “delivering, dispensing or prescribing a controlled substance with the intent of assisting a suicide would not be under any current definition a ‘legitimate medical purpose’. As a result, {assisted suicide} would be, in our opinion, a violation of the CSA (Controlled Substance Act).”
In June of 1998, Attorney General Janet Reno issued her opinion which overturned the findings of Thomas Constantine. In August of 1998, Senator Don Nickles and Congressman Henry Hyde introduced the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act which would have outlawed controlled substances being used for assisted suicide. The bill received a hearing in the House and the Senate, but was not voted on.
Assisted suicide has been legal and practiced in Oregon since November 1997.