Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Assisted Suicide Law
The Supreme Court rejected the Bush administration's challenge to the nation's only right-to-die law today and ruled Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft overstepped his authority when he sought to punish the Oregon doctors who helped terminally ill people end their lives.
The 6-3 decision was a victory for states and their independent-minded voters, and a defeat for social conservatives.
New Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in his first significant decision, joined Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in dissent.
The three blind mice will soon be joined by a fourth.