In 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft decided to try to stop the DWDA. He threatened to use a federal anti-drug law to punish doctors who wrote prescriptions under the DWDA. He threatened to take away their prescription licenses and even charge them as criminals. The state of Oregon, joined by a doctor, a pharmacist, and terminally ill patients, sued to stop Ashcroft. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in favor of Oregon. The Death with Dignity Act could continue.