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Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Lethal Flaws of the Ninth and Second Circuit Decisions |
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Susan R. Martyn & Henry J. Bourguignon |
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| In Spring, 1996, the Ninth and Second Circuits were the first circuit courts in the country to find a constitutional prohibition against laws which make physician-assisted suicide a crime. These landmark decisions held that a competent adult suffering from a terminal illness could voluntarily seek the assistance of a physician in obtaining relief through suicide. This Essay argues that the law generated by these decisions is misguided and dangerous, as their effect is to displace the well-established line between killing and letting die. The authors argue that the new line drawn by the Ninth and Second Circuits is both untenable and dangerous, concluding that the line opens the door to involuntary euthanasia. The courts' reliance upon different clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment suggests that neither could find a definite, irrefutable constitutional basis for their decision. Instead of proposing and defending a new analysis of the constitutionality of physician-assisted suicide, the authors engage in a philosophical, moral and pragmatic discussion to establish that there are many compelling reasons to maintain the traditional line between killing and letting die. | |
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Copyright
© 1997 by California Law Review, Inc. |
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