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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 18, 1997)
ju s t o u t ▼ july 18, 1 9 9 7 T 9 Let Me Earn Your Business.. Court and sp arks The Supreme Court moves on two hotly contested issues: freedom o f cyberspeech and doctor-assisted suicide When buying or selling real estate, I represent your interests! Experienced, Innovative, Up-to-Date Steve Buchert, Office: 228-9801 • Mobile: 970-3801 VM: 228-0750, ext. 142 e-mail: huchert@teleport.com T by Bob Roehr he U.S. Supreme Court issued two major decisions on June 26 which may have a significant impact upon lesbians and gay men. In its first decision concerning the Internet, the nine-member court ruled as uncon stitutional the federal Communications Decency Act, which sought to ban “ indecent” speech in cyberspace. In the landmark 7-2 decision written by Jus tice John Paul Stevens, the high court ruled that the C D A places an “ unacceptably heavy burden on protected speech,” that "threatens to torch a large segment o f the Internet community.” Justice Sandra Day O ’ Connor, with Chief Justice W ill iam Rehnquist, concurred with the judgment while dissenting in part along more narrow lines. Stevens, meanwhile, compared the C D A to “ burning the house to roast a pig.” The effect o f the decision is to treat on-line communications more like speech and print— where First Amendment rights are virtually un limited— than radio or television, where much tighter restrictions apply. sex and risk management for a variety o f sexual practices can breathe a bit easier now,” he says. unanimous Supreme Court also ruled that state governments have the right to outlaw doctor-assisted suicides. Justices also re fused to create a new constitutional right for mentally competent and terminally ill patients to get medical help to commit suicide. The high court upheld laws from New York and Washington states barring doctor-assisted suicide, marking the first time the justices have ruled on the existing bans on doctor-assisted suicide. In addition, the court overturned two prece dent-setting rulings by U.S. appeals courts in California and New York that struck down as unconstitutional the state laws that make it a crime for physicians to assist in a suicide. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote the main opinions in both cases. “ Legal physician-assisted suicide could make it more difficult for the state to protect depressed or mentally ill persons or those who are suffering Realtor A 25 N W 2 3 r d P la c e , (¡V P o r t la n d , O R 9 7 2 1 0 5SUST? impulse VIDEO Bring in this ad and receive 1 FREE RENTAL! p e When you rent another video at regular price r 1 O -| 2 0 S . W . 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American Civil Liberties Union attorney Stefan Presser led the challenge to the C D A. “ Essen tially the Supreme Court took an idea from the 18th century, that is, free speech, and said it has enduring quality, and will extend it into the 21st century, because government will not be allowed to censor what’ s on the Internet,” he says. “ The U.S. Supreme Court has ensured that the Internet remains a safe haven for queer and ques tioning youth,” adds Jess Walsh, editor and pub lisher o f Oasis (w ww .oasism ag.com /), an on-line resource for sexual minority youth. “ Oasis would have been a prime target o f this legislation.” Kiyoshi Kuromiya is a Philadelphia gay and AIDS activist and director o f Critical Path AIDS Project (www.critpath.org/), a leading on-line source o f AIDS information. He was a principle witness in the original trial. "The sweeping restrictions o f the C D A would have knocked the cornerstone out o f the First Amendment guarantee o f free speech, as applied to the Internet, for the next hundred years. W e as providers o f information on AIDS treatment, safer from untreated pain from suicidal impulses,” he writes. “The state also has an interest in protecting the integrity and ethics o f the medical profes sion. .,. Finally, the state may fear that permitting assisted suicide will start it down the path to voluntary and perhaps even involuntary euthana- sia. “ People with AIDS have the right to make their own medical decisions, right up until the very end,” says Catherine Hanssens, an attorney with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. "Courts should not stand in the way o f people using assistance from a trusted physician to end suffering when remission or real improve ment is not in the cards.” Daniel Zingale, executive director o f the AIDS Action Council, adds, “ Essentially, the Supreme Court has ruled against empowering people with terminal diseases, including HIV disease, to exer cise their fundamental right to make individual decisions about how they live with their disease, including their right to freely choose in a dignified and humane way the manner and time o f their death.” President Clinton, meanwhile, hailed the court’ s action. "The decision is a victory for all Americans— it prevents us from going down a very dangerous and troubling path on this difficult and often agonizing issue,” he said in a media statement. Precor is rated the #1 treadm ill supplier by Sporting Goods Dealt er m agazine. according to a recent report in The Journal of the American Medical Association. 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