Aid-In-Dying Advocates, Disheartened By Supreme Court Pick, Brace For New Fight
In his book “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia," Neil Gorsuch, the president's Supreme Court nominee, refers to physician-assisted suicide as “essentially a right to consensual homicide.” In other news, an Associated Press review of Gorsuch's decisions reveal few clues on how he'll vote on abortion, and Rhode Island moves to protect access at a state-level.
The Associated Press:
Backers Of Right To Die Fear Trump Supreme Court Nominee
Supporters of a terminally ill person’s right to take his or her own life said Wednesday they are alarmed by President Donald Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court and worry that Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation could mean a renewed battle over the legality of laws permitting the practice. Gorsuch, a Denver-based judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote a 2006 book titled “The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia” that included an extensive discussion of Oregon’s law, which allows doctors to prescribe lethal medication to patients to have less than six months to live and who request it. (Flaccus, 2/1)
The Associated Press:
Gorsuch Case Review Shows He's No Crusader On Abortion
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to appoint a crusading anti-abortion Supreme Court justice who'd work to overturn the Roe v. Wade opinion that legalized it. However, an Associated Press review of decisions and writings by Neil Gorsuch during a decade as a federal appeals court judge in Denver turns up no guarantees on how he might rule on that hot-button issue. (Neumeister, Burke and Weiss, 2/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Rhode Island Lawmakers Seek To Protect Abortion Rights
Democratic lawmakers in Rhode Island on Wednesday proposed legislation to strengthen women’s access to abortion, the latest state-level effort to protect those rights. The proposed legislation would bar restrictions on medically recognized methods of contraception or abortion. It would also prevent the state from interfering with a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy as long as that decision is made before a physician determines that a fetus would likely survive outside the womb. (De Avila, 2/1)
