US Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft has spoken out against doctor-assisted suicide, sought by some terminally ill patients, and called for sanctions against physicians who engage in the practice, the Justice Department said today.
In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mr Ashcroft called on federal officials to identify and sanction practitioners who prescribe federally regulated medications aimed at helping terminally ill patients die.
Mr Ashcroft's move was aimed in particular at the northwestern US state of Oregon, where the Death With Dignity Act had legalized assisted suicides.
"Assisting suicide is not a 'legitimate medical purpose,'" the attorney general said in the letter, adding that "prescribing, dispensing or administering federally controlled substances to assist suicide violates the CSA (Controlled Substances Act)."
Mr Ashcroft's decision overturns that made by his predecessor, Ms Janet Reno, in 1998.
Though the attorney general has not called for criminal proceedings against the doctors in question, he is hoping the new guidelines will make them think more carefully before prescribing such medications.
AFP