Itunes U Podcast

Title: Physician Assisted Suicide: An Analysis of U.S. Supreme Court Precedent

(Bioethics Grand Round)

Author/Speaker: Stewart Albertson

This speech was focused in California, discussing the "California Compassionate Act" that follows the Oregon Death with Dignity act concerning physician assisted suicide. Stewart Albertson talks about understanding the distinction between fundamental rights and ordinary rights under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment substantive due process clause, how physician assisted suicide fits in to Supreme Courts interpretation on what is and what is not a protected fundamental right, and the issue of federalism (the sharing of concurring power between the federal state and local governments). Albertson also discusses the case of Gonzalez v Oregon and how that will impact California's own physician assisted legislation. Albertson also compares the issues with physician assisted suicide with the case in Griswold v Connecticut. This speech is very useful for those interested in learning more about physician assisted suicide because it gives the legal perspective on the issue. It explains how the constitution, federal government, and previous rulings all tie into the matter of physician assisted suicide [especially state to state]. Albertons talks about past issues in this area and how they have been resolved, how the constitution discusses (or does not discuss) this matter, and the power each state has in deciding what laws to allow concerning physician assisted suicide.

An interesting fact(s) that I learned from this podcast dealt with the power that the federal government and states have on certain policies (or don't have in several cases). The states want to retain certain powers; the power that deals with physician assisted suicide is the general police power, which means the state has the right to regulate the health safety and wealthfare of it's citizenry. With physician assisted suicide, the federal government cannot come in and tell the state what they can and cannot do in this area. This is why different states have different laws/regulations/acts concering physician assisted suicide; some may decide that the practice is okay (such as Oregon) and some may decide to put [law] restrictions on allowing physician assisted suicide (such as several states have done).