Washington v. Glucksberg
United States Supreme Court
521 U.S. 702, 117 S. Ct. 2258, 138 L. Ed. 2d 772 (1997)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Harold Glucksberg (plaintiff) was a doctor who practiced medicine in the State of Washington (defendant). Under state law, it was a crime to knowingly cause or aid another person to attempt suicide. Glucksberg frequently treated terminally ill patients and claimed he would have assisted those patients in ending their lives if not for Washington’s law. Glucksberg sued the state to invalidate the law. Glucksberg argued that (1) the liberty interests protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution included a fundamental right to die and (2) this right to die included a right to assisted suicide. Glucksberg contended that because the Washington law denied this fundamental right, it was unconstitutional. The district court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rehnquist, C.J.)
Concurrence (Souter, J.)
Concurrence (Stevens, J.)
Concurrence (O’Connor, J.)
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