John A. Kitzhaber

In the following viewpoint, John A. Kitzhaber argues against a 1999 congressional bill that would outlaw the use of controlled substances for doctor-assisted suicide. If such a bill becomes law, Kitzhaber maintains, physicians will be less likely to administer adequate amounts of the drugs that can curb the pain of the terminally ill. Since higher doses of these drugs can result in unintentional deaths, many doctors fear they might face prosecution if patients under their care die after taking prescribed narcotics. Such fear on the part of physicians could result in the undertreatment of pain for dying patients. Kitzhaber, a medical doctor, is governor of Oregon.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What safeguards are written into Oregon’s Death...