One of the senior Obama officials, who bluntly said the Republican attacks have "frustrated the hell out of me, " asserted that gaining the trust of the family was the best way to handle the case and helped the administration gain valuable intelligence from the suspect, who is believed to have ties to an al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Charges are more likely if the victim was under 18 or mentally ill, or if the suspect stood to gain from his death (though, campaigners note, this is often the case because helpers tend to be spouses or offspring).

ECONOMIST: Assisted suicide

As frequently happens, however, I suspect history will reveal the consequences of the quarrel to be quite apart from what anyone anticipated, hopefully in this case for the better.

FORBES: It's Time For Rand Paul To Vie For Senate Leadership