Doctor Assisted Suicide

1. PAS the doctor only prescribes the dosage.

2. The AMA "strongly opposes any bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide" because the practice is "fundamentally inconsistent with the physician's role as healer."

3. it protects people who do not want to suffer lingering, painful deaths it is in keeping with respect for patient autonomy it is defensible as policy because it respects social diversity it protects against physician paternalism and unwanted treatment it protects against debilitating conditions not easily managed by medicine the state has no interesting in forcing the prolongation of life of someone in pain who wants to die

4. How Is it being portrayed in the media? When did it become a topic of debate?

4.1. The first such bill introduced in the United StatesThe first such bill introduced in the United States was in 1905

4.2. ethical debate

4.3. Kevorkian

5. Where is it legal? What are the laws?

5.1. A terminally ill patient is defined as someone with six months or less to live. The patient’s terminal diagnosis and mental competency must be attested to by two doctors. Patients would have to make a request to their doctor twice orally and once in writing. The written request would have to be witnessed. A terminally ill patient is defined as someone with six months or less to live. The patient’s terminal diagnosis and mental competency must be attested to by two doctors. Patients would have to make a request to their doctor twice orally and once in writing. The written request would have to be witnessed.

5.2. Montana, Washington, oregon

5.3. Supreme Court Decisions

5.3.1. Vacco v. Quill and Gregoire v. Glucksberg. In those cases, the court determined that there was no Constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, either on the groundsVacco v. Quill and Gregoire v. Glucksberg. In those cases, the court determined that there was no Constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, either on the grounds of equal protection or personal liberty. of equal protection or personal liberty.

5.3.2. the Court concluded that while there was no Constitutional right to physician-assisted suicide, the states of the Union could decide the matter for themselves.

5.4. 7 state legislatures have voted to explicitly prohibit euthanasia and PAS

5.5. legal in Netherlands and Belgium

6. What are the arguments in support of it?

6.1. involvement can be overcome by giving each physician the right of conscience to be involved or not.

7. What are the arguments against it?

8. How common is it? how is it done?

8.1. mostly used to escape psychological distress- not physical pain

8.2. In Oregon, between 1998 and 2011, 596 patients used physician-assisted suicide — about 0.2 percent of dying patients in the state.

8.3. An overdose is prescribed and taken at home.

9. Who supports it?

9.1. Roughly, one third of Americans seem to support voluntary active euthanasia or PAS no matter what the circumstances.

9.2. physicians attitudes-only 38.9% supported permitting PAS. Consistently, few physicians would be willing to perform euthanasia or PAS if either were legalized

9.3. 60.2% of terminally ill patients ssupported euthanasia or PAS in a hypothetical situation, but only 10.6% reported seriously considering euthanasia or PAS for themselves

9.4. 11.1% (27/244) of the caregivers reported that if the patient had asked them for assistance to end their lives by euthanasia or PAS they would help. Even among the caregivers who found euthanasia or PAS ethical for unremitting pain, only 17.9% (23/128) were willing to assist with euthanasia or PAS.

10. physician assisted suicide versus euthanasia

10.1. Euthanasia- the doctor administers the dose.

11. What are the Arguments Against it?

11.1. suicide is wrong in and of itself even for the ill it is incompatible with the healing goals of medicine given appropriate palliative care, it is unnecessary requests for death are induced by poor care and/or unrecognized psychological needs the practice damages physicians by desensitizing them to human needs it leads down a slippery slope to indiscriminate killing of the ill, weak, and disabled, among others

11.2. Instead of attempting to legalize physician-assisted suicide, we should focus our energies on what really matters: improving care for the dying