Supporting his thoughts the Roman Catholic Church issued a statement that says, "2280: Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God Who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of" (Asher). These words of our religion and of our God tell us assisted suicide is not an option.
Laws currently state that it is a criminal offense to assist in the suicide of anyone. The United States Supreme Court decision in the year 1997 stated, "The average American has no Constitutional right to a physician assisted suicide." The vote was a unanimous decision of nine to zero. One implication made by the court was there is no constitutional bar that would prevent a state from passing a law permitting physician-assisted suicide. One state acted on this and passed a law on October 27, 1997 called The Death with Dignity Law. Since that date one hundred and twenty-nine people have committed this death. Studies have shown that not all patients that requested assisted suicide and received their dosage have actually used them. During 2002, physicians in Oregon gave fatal prescriptions to about seventy-five terminally ill individuals. Thirty-eight of the recipients used them to commit suicide. These facts provide evidence of uncertainty by these people, hence disallowing them the choice of assisted suicide. The Bush Administration has scrutinized the law passed by Oregon and has been trying to revoke the law since entering office. Regardless of the current law, convicting people has been very difficult. Jurors have been sympathetic of the accused, and not convicting them. Civil Suits have been more successful in convicting the accused and are becoming the main way to prosecute. There is a constant battle over the current laws but we need to trust the people we voted into office to make the best decisions.
