Assisted Suicide Prevention Act of 2006 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit medical practitioners from using a controlled substance for the purpose of assisting suicide or causing the death of any person. Provides that dispensing, distributing, or administering a controlled substance to alleviate pain or discomfort in the usual course of professional practice consistent with public health and safety is a legitimate medical purpose, even if the use of such substance may increase the risk of death.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3788 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3788
To clarify Federal law to prohibit the dispensing, distribution, or
administration of a controlled substance for the purpose of causing, or
assisting in causing, the suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of any
individual.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 3, 2006
Mr. Brownback introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify Federal law to prohibit the dispensing, distribution, or
administration of a controlled substance for the purpose of causing, or
assisting in causing, the suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of any
individual.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Assisted Suicide Prevention Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
Congress finds that--
(1) the use of certain narcotics and other drugs or
substances with a potential for abuse is strictly regulated
under the Controlled Substances Act;
(2) the dispensing, distribution, or administration of
certain controlled substances only by properly registered
practitioners and only for legitimate medical purposes are
permitted under the Controlled Substances Act;
(3) the dispensing, distribution, or administration of
controlled substances to assist suicide or euthanasia are not
legitimate medical purposes and are not permissible under the
Controlled Substances Act;
(4) the dispensing, distribution, or administration of
controlled substances for the purpose of relieving pain and
discomfort are legitimate medical purposes and are permissible
under the Controlled Substances Act;
(5) inadequate treatment of pain, especially for chronic
diseases, irreversible diseases such as cancer, and end-of-life
care, is a serious public health problem affecting hundreds of
thousands of patients every year and physicians should not
hesitate to dispense, distribute, or administer controlled
substances when medically indicated for those conditions; and
(6) for the reasons set forth in section 101 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801), the dispensing,
distribution, or administration of controlled substances for
any purpose, including that of assisting suicide or euthanasia,
affects interstate commerce.
SEC. 3. USE OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TO ASSIST SUICIDE.
Section 303 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823) is
amended by adding at the end with the following:
``(i)(1) It shall be unlawful for any practitioner to intentionally
dispense, distribute, or administer a controlled substance for the
purpose of assisting suicide or causing the death of a person.
``(2) Alleviating pain or discomfort in the usual course of
professional practice is a legitimate medical purpose for the
dispensing, distributing, or administering of a controlled substance
that is consistent with public health and safety, even if the use of
such substance may increase the risk of death.
``(3) Any practitioner who violates paragraph (1), upon a finding
that a controlled substance was dispensed, distributed, or administered
for the stated or undisputed purpose of assisting suicide or causing
the death of a person--
``(A) shall have any registration under this Act revoked;
and
``(B) shall not be registered under this Act.
``(4) In any proceeding under this subsection, the Attorney General
shall have the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence,
that the intent of the practitioner was to dispense, distribute, or
administer a controlled substance for the purpose of assisting suicide
or causing the death of a person. In meeting such burden, it shall not
be sufficient to prove that the practitioner knew that the use of
controlled substance may increase the risk of death.
``(5) This subsection does not apply to dispensing or administering
a controlled substance for the purpose of carrying out a criminal
sentence of death that is authorized under Federal or State law.
``(6)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), nothing in this
subsection may be construed to--
``(i) alter the roles of the Federal Government or State
governments in regulating the practice of medicine, including
that, regardless of whether the Attorney General determines
under this subsection that a practitioner has violated
paragraph (1), it remains solely within the discretion of State
authorities to determine whether action should be taken with
respect to the State professional license of the practitioner
or State prescribing privileges;
``(ii) modify the Federal requirements that a controlled
substance be dispensed only for a legitimate medical purpose;
or
``(iii) provide the Attorney General with the authority to
issue national standards for pain management and palliative
care clinical practice, research, or quality.
``(B) The Attorney General may take such actions as may be
necessary to enforce this subsection.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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