Legal fight means Oregon cancer patient can’t kill self

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — A liver cancer patient was denied a lethal dose of drugs Thursday because his doctor was advised against writing the prescription until the legality of Oregon’s assisted suicide law is resolved in court.

Richard Holmes, 72, has completed all the required paperwork to end his life under the Oregon law. He expected to get his prescription Thursday; instead, he got a call from his doctor.

Holmes said his physician said he had been told by officials at Oregon Health and Science University not to write such a prescription.

"It’s kind of a mess," said Holmes, who is expected to die within six months.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued an order Nov. 6, effectively prohibiting doctors from prescribing lethal doses of federally controlled drugs to terminally ill patients. That would block Oregon’s 4-year-old assisted suicide law, which was approved twice by voters.

State officials sued, claiming that Ashcroft violated the state’s right to regulate the practice of medicine. A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the Ashcroft ruling until Nov. 20 to give both sides time to present more detailed arguments.

In a statement, a spokesman for the university said, "Following the Ashcroft decision and Oregon’s injunction, physicians have been advised not to pursue requests from patients. They have been advised to wait until this temporary injunction is resolved legally."

The Oregon Medical Association has had no calls from doctors about how to handle a patient’s request for assisted suicide since the restraining order, said Jim Kronenberg, the group’s associate executive director.

How long the order will remain in effect is unclear. U.S. District Judge Robert Jones has indicated that he might extend it.

In a conference call with attorneys Thursday morning, Jones said he wanted more time to write his opinion. None of the attorneys objected, according to Kevin Neely, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Justice.

Meanwhile, Holmes remains determined to control the circumstances of his death.

"We’ll do something when the time comes," he said.