Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (1997), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously held that a right to assisted suicide in the United States was not protected by the Due Process Clause.

[2] On March 9, 1995, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, with Judge John T. Noonan Jr. joined by Diarmuid O'Scannlain.

[3] After rehearing the case en banc, the Ninth Circuit on May 28, 1996, reversed the earlier panel and affirmed the District Court's decision, in an opinion by Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

Like Blackmun in Roe v. Wade,[7] Rehnquist used English common law to establish American tradition as a yardstick for determining what rights were "deeply rooted in the nation's history."

The Court felt that the ban was rational in that it furthered such compelling state interests as the preservation of human life and the protection of the mentally ill and disabled from medical malpractice and coercion.