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= ‘The Salt Lake TribuneNATION/WORLD Saturday, November24, 2001 Ashcroft’s Opposition to Assisted Suicide Has a Long History Critics: Personal beliefs fueled order on Oregon law said doctors who aise federally con- ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON John Ashcroft’s opposition toassisted suicide has been aconsistent themeofhis publiclife. As governor, senator and now attorney general, Ashcroft has not el from his belief that medical science should be used to keep peoplealive. So few were surprised when earlier this month Ashcroft issued an order undercutting Oregon's /one-of-a-kind law allowing physiciati-assisted suicide for the terminallyill. Ashcroft stop what they see as needless deaths. Meanwhile,right-to-die groups and other critics charged that Ashcroft was allowing his religious trolled drugs to help patients die, as beliefs to supersede a law permitted under the Oregonlaw,face Oregon voters twice approved. Ashcroft, the son ofa suspension or revocation of their licenses to prescribe those drugs. “Tt’s been a quite longstanding un- Pentecostal minister,is a devout memberofthe theologi- derstanding of the federal government cally that legitimate medical purposes are healing and helping people, notkilling people,” Ashcroft said. A federal judge has temporarily blocked Ashcroft’s order, which was hailed by manyconservativeandreligious groups as much-needed action to general, he would enforce the laws irrespective of his personal beliefs. Eighmeyand othercritics often cite as evidence twolengthy right- conservative Assem- to-die court battles in Missouri, where Ashcroft served as governor from 1985 to 1993. However, his role in those cases is still debated. In one,it was the Missouri attorney blies of God church. general and state health deGeorge Eighmey, execupartmentthatfought the legal tive director of the group ky battle. In the other, it was the Compassion .in Dying, sai John Ashcroft Department of Health. But Ashcroft “blatantly li some say they suspect Ashduring his Senate confirmation hear- croft was pullingthe strings. ings when he said, as attorney Unlike the Missouri cases, Ashcroft’s opposition to the right-todie, and specifically Oregon's law, was at times clear during his single Senate term. He andSen. Byron Dorgan, D-N_D., advanced a bill in 1997 to preventfederal Medicaid funding from paying for assisted suicides, out ofconcern about the Oregon death-with-dignity law. President Clinton signed the measure. “Once a culture decides that the thing to do with terminallyill patients is to help them die quickly, they neglect and otherwise refuse to develop the kindsofinstitutions which would helppeople whoreally ought to live,” Ashcroft said during the debate. NATOLeader, Putin Discuss Stronger Ties SOCIATED PRESS THE MOSCOW-- With terrorism as a commonenemy, Russ president and the NATOchief on Friday explored areas where the former foes could move from consultation to cooperation between equals, edging closer to a new partnershipafter decadesofrivalry. “Thereis senseofhistory,” NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson told reporters. after his Kremlin meeting with Pre ident Vladimir Putin. “There avery strongsensethat this moment of opportunity which mustbeseized.” While there was‘notalk of Russia joining the 19-nation military alliance, Robertson said he and Russianoffi held “ i to establish whether thei areas where NATO andRu could perhaps work at 20 rather thanat 19 plus one. “This would be a major, groundbreaking changeif Russia was to be aroundthe same « table with the NATO countries,” he said ns between the Cold Warfoes severely strained by NATO's steady eas pansion and its airstrikes in Yugoslavia in 1999 have warmedin the wakeofthe Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. 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