[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SUPPORT STATES' RIGHTS TO ENACT DEATH WITH DIGNITY LAWS

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, twice the voters of Oregon have gone to the 
ballot box to enact and uphold our Death With Dignity law. The Ninth 
Circuit Court, the Supreme Court, and most recently the Attorney 
General have upheld the right of the citizens of Oregon to enact a 
Death With Dignity law.
  But now a group of our colleagues, working hand-in-glove with the 
same national special interest groups that opposed our ballot measure, 
have proposed Federal legislation to preempt our Death With Dignity 
law. Many of these same Members of Congress wax eloquent day after day 
on the floor of the House for States' rights. Yes, States' rights if it 
restricts a woman's right to choice. They are for States' rights if it 
shreds the social safety net. But if the people of Oregon want a Death 
With Dignity law, well, they are not for States' rights anymore. The 
Federal Government should preempt them.
  This is not only an attack on our States' rights, it is an attempt to 
overturn the will of a majority of Oregonians with an unprecedented 
Federal intrusion into the doctor-patient relationship. It is no longer 
a doctor-patient relationship when we are dying, it is a doctor-patient 
and Drug Enforcement Administration official relationship. This will 
have an incredibly chilling effect on the end of life painfully 
provided by doctors. We must reject this proposal.

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