Physician Assisted Suicide

On June 26, 1997, the U.S. Supreme tribunal ruled that individuals do not have a fundamental, constitutional salutary to physician-assisted felo-de-se. This ruling transposed two previous decisions by U.S. courts of appeals. In the first case, majuscule State vs. Glucksberg, the Ninth racing circuit court had determined that a Washington state law prohibiting individuals from aiding in suicides was unconstitutional. The court support its decision by concluding that individuals have a constitutionally protected right under the Due Process article of the 14th Amendment to control the timing and method of their death. In refreshing York vs. Quill, in a ruling similar to the Ninth Circuits decision, the Second Circuit court of appeals had declared unconstitutional a New York state law that prohibited assisting person in committing suicide. The court justified its decision by arguing that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Both courts decisions had, in effect, recognized a constitutional right to die.

Although the Supreme Court overturned the decisions of the two courts of appeals, its ruling did not put an end to the debate over assisted suicide. As Justice Sandra Day OConnor noted, the Court concluded that at that place is no generalized right to commit suicide.



However, the Court emphasise that its decision and the Constitution do not place lordly restrictions on state law, leaving open the possibility for states to bring out their own laws to establish such a right. In addition, the Court indicated that laws that prohibit physician-assisted suicide could still be challenged in particular proposition cases in the future. According to legal experts who evaluated the decision, the Court recognized that physician-assisted suicide is a complicated issue and that each case has a unique set of circumstances that must be evaluated separately. In short, the Court shifted the responsibility for this issue to the states, and by doing so it indirectly ensured that...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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