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High Court Backs Oregon's Assisted-Suicide Law

The Supreme Court rules in favor of Oregon's physician-assisted-suicide law in a 6-to-3 decision. The justices find the state has the right to allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs for terminally ill, mentally sound patients. The court also finds that the Bush administration, through the actions of the U.S. attorney general, had in effect criminalized the practice without the authorization of Congress.

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Nina Totenberg is NPR's award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR's critically acclaimed newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.