Thursday, May 27, 2004

Court Assisted Suicide: They say, even a stopped watch is right twice a day. It looks like the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals actually made the right decision to overrule John Ashcroft and his unilateral attempt to ban physician assisted suicide in Oregon.

The decision isn't surprising, considering how liberal that court tends to be. But it's still important to let state law reign when the public decides to allow terminally ill patients to end their own suffering.

I'm not, however, going to argue that this is a states' rights issue. Sure, the Supreme Court already ruled that states can decide whether to allow physician assisted suicide without federal interference, and that John Ashcroft essentially broke the law when he struck down Oregon's statute. But I believe everyone should have the right to die with dignity, and that government -- state and federal -- should stay the hell out of the way.

I will, though, use this occasion to point out the utter hypocrisy of conservatives who claim to be a champion of states' rights, then usurp federal power to dictate state laws. Truth is, very few people believe in states' rights anymore. It's just a tool both sides use to get what they want.