Section 6. Additional Resources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia - Euthanasia
For the pro life presentation on this issue see
http://www.all.org/issues/index.htm
2023=2024 New York State Law Proposed MAID the
Medical Aid in Dying Act
MAID now before the NY State legislature NOT LAW YET
https://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld&leg_video&bn=A02383&term=2017&Summary=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y
Read
about MAID
https://www.esslawfirm.com/articles/new-york-s-medical-aid-in-dying-act-what-you-should-know/
Other
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/21/1728_55200.htm -
Deadly Business: MDs Report Experience With
Assisted Suicide
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/21/1689_52815.htm - Who Chooses
Physician-Assisted Suicide?
http://www.iaetf.org/ - International Task Force on Euthanasia and
Assisted Suicide
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05630a.htm - Euthanasia
http://www.cwru.edu/affil/sce/Sovereignty.htm - Sovereignty and the
Right to Death
http://www.growthhouse.org/dignity.html - Death with Dignity
http://www.deathwithdignityvermont.org/ - Death with Dignity Vermont
Before I Die
Includes "real-life stories" and provides key facts and in-depth information
on end-of-life topics. This is the companion website to a PBS special that
dealt with the medical, ethical, and social issues surrounding end-of-life
care.
Growth House: Guide To Death,
Dying, Grief, Bereavement, and End Of Life Resources
Excellent source. This site includes resources for life-threatening illness
and end of life issues, including hospice care, home care, palliative care,
pain management, death with dignity, bereavement, and related end of life
topics.
Choices in Dying
This site includes detailed information about advance directives,
State-specific downloadable advance directives, a summary of Right-to-Die
Issues and facts about end-of-life care.
Doctor-Assisted
Suicide - A guide to Websites and the literature
Developed by the Longwood College Library, this site
includes all relevant legal cases and listings of journal, TV, audio, and
web-based references. Copies of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act and
statutes are included.
from: Library & Information Services, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
Recent Journal Issues Focusing on Assisted Suicide
Annals of Internal Medicine2000 132(6): Finding Common Ground: Consensus Papers from the Assisted Suicide Panel (University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics)
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 1998 7(4): Special Section - Euthanasia and Public Policy
Christian Bioethics 1998 4(2): Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: At the Front in the Culture Wars
Ethics: An International Journal of Social, Political and Legal Philosophy 1999 109(3): Symposium on Physician-Assisted Suicide
Supreme Court Bench Opinions
Vacco v.
Quill
Washington v.
Glucksberg
OREGON Death With Dignity Act:
http://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/chs/pas/pas.htm
Avoid putting others in the position of making decisions for you when you
cannot do it for yourself.
Fill
out an advance directive: 3 types Fill out all three
-
Medical Power of Attorney:
it gives an agent the authority to make medical decisions for you if you
are incapacitated.
-
Living Will:
it allows an individual to state preferences for medical treatment,
focusing on end-of-life decisions.
-
Advance Directive:
it includes the instructions collected in a Living Will and in a Medical
Power of Attorney.
FIND
THEM ALL HERE>>>
FORMS
https://www.lawdistrict.com/power-of-attorney/medical/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccN3cMOKTkDO-z21xQj3niB_ZjiyXdSXKSgS3bA8OdY945Cyyits5KBoCm5YQAvD_BwE
Another example of a LIVING WILL:
https://eforms.com/living-will/new-york-living-will-document-directing-health-care/?utm_content=Power+of+Attorney+General&gclid=CjwKCAjw6qqDBhB-EiwACBs6x-FtISNmZ-lGDip9X0xU7DXaBPKvW6uQTxBJtVEhiL3ijUjwOA53rxoCjC0QAvD_BwE
Health
Care Proxy Form -for each state
This
next form (MOLST) must be filled out related to an actual medical facility
and medical staff and recognized in NEW YORK STATE.
Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
INSTRUCTIONS: MOLST is the Medical Orders for
Life-Sustaining Treatment and the POLST is the Physician Orders for
Life-Sustaining Treatment. They're both the same thing, but in different
states they call them by different names. https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/
FORM: MOLST(DOH-5003),
Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST),
lected Bibliography
The following bibliography has been prepared by the staff of the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature (NRCBL) from BIOETHICSLINE, a National Library of Medicine online
bibliographic database, the NRCBL collection, and the Internet. It is arranged alphabetically by author. Further information is available from the Center.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
H | I | J | K | L | M | N |
O | P | Q | R | S | T | W |
Z
A
Abramson, Neil; Stokes, Jason; Weinreb, Neal J.; and Clark, W. Scott.
Euthanasia and Doctor-Assisted Suicide: Responses by Oncologists and
Non-Oncologists. Southern Medical Journal 91(7): 637-642, July 1998.
- Public interest concerning euthanasia and doctor-assisted
suicide is creating ethical dilemmas in the health care profession. We
surveyed the views of oncologists and non-oncologists in Florida.
METHODS: Physicians responded to an attitudinal questionnaire. The data
collected were compared with standard statistical methods. RESULTS: Both
oncologists and non-oncologists had similar opposition to euthanasia on
philosophic or general grounds, with more opposition on general grounds
expressed by oncologists. Both groups preferred better pain control and
improved quality of life rather than euthanasia, but more oncologists
than non-oncologists favored this alternative. Both groups admitted to
participation in passive euthanasia, with little support for active
euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. However, should the acts of
euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide become legalized, more
non-oncologists than oncologists would agree to participate. CONCLUSION:
In Florida, more opposition to aspects of the termination of life was
expressed by oncologists than by non-oncologists. [Author abstract]
Alpers, Ann, and Lo, Bernard. Does It Make Clinical Sense to Equate Terminally Ill Patients Who
Require Life-Sustaining Interventions With Those Who Do Not? JAMA 277(21): 1705-1708, 4 June 1997.
- This article reviews the assertion of the two U.S. Circuit Court decisions on assisted suicide that
competent, terminally ill patients being kept alive on
life support are equivalent to competent, terminally ill patients
who do not require such support. Because the former are permitted
to end their lives by refusing treatment, the appellate courts found that
the latter also have a right to determine the time and manner of
their death through prescriptions for lethal doses of
medication. The authors analyze the flaws in this reasoning and discuss the implications of this logic
for undermining the care of terminally
ill patients. [KIE annotation]
Alpers, Ann, and Lo, Bernard. The Supreme Court Addresses Physician-Assisted Suicide. Archives of Family Medicine 8(3): 200-205, May/June 1999.
- In June 1997, the US Supreme Court unanimously decided that competent,
terminally ill patients have no general constitutional right to commit
suicide or to obtain assistance in committing suicide. Thus, the broad
prohibitions against any kind of suicide assistance that almost every
state has enacted do not violate the constitution. While many of the
rulings and the bulk of the reaction to them focused on the Supreme
Court's resolution of important legal controversies regarding
physician-assisted suicide, this article focuses on the resulting
potential for change in physicians' opinions on palliative care. The
Court's reasoning may help physicians resolve substantial ethical
dilemmas regarding the provision of narcotics given in high dosages, the
care of incompetent patients, and the suffering caused by symptoms other
than pain. For example, the Court concluded that a physician's intent can
distinguish permissible acts of aggressive pain relief from impermissible
acts of hastening death. This distinction has clinical uses and can help
physicians develop ethical guidelines and practice standards to improve
palliative care near the end of life. [Author abstract]
American Geriatrics Society. Brief to the United States Supreme Court [on Physician-Assisted Suicide] [See Also Lynn et al.]
American Medical Association. Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. Physician-Assisted Suicide [Report 59]. Code of Medical Ethics: Reports of the Council 5(2): 269-275, July 1994.
- Revisiting their earlier report addressing assisted suicide Decisions Near the End of Life (JAMA
267(16): 2229-2233, 22/29 April 1992], the Council asserts that physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is "inconsistent with the physician's professional role," and observes that a request for PAS is "...a signal to the physician that the patient's needs are unmet..." [KIE annotation]
Amundsen, Darrel W. The Ninth Circuit Court's Treatment of the History of Suicide by Ancient
Jews and Christians in Compassion in Dying v. State of Washington:
Historical Naivete or Special Pleading? Issues in Law and Medicine 13(4): 365-423, Spring 1998.
- In this article, Prof. Darrel Amundsen critiques Judge Reinhardt's
comments regarding "Historical Attitudes Toward Suicide" in his
Compassion in Dying opinion. Amundsen demonstrates that the court's
characterization of ancient Jewish and Christian practices is inaccurate
and misleading because it fails to acknowledge the complexities of the
moral issue of suicide. Amundsen discusses martyrdom, suicide in general,
suicide by the ill, and euthanasia in ancient Judaism. In contrast to the
court's commentary, Amundsen demonstrates that regard for human life is a
central feature of Jewish ethical monotheism. Furthermore, the author
challenges the court's conclusions about early Christianity, and explains
why its treatment of the issue of suicide in early Christianity is
misleading and inaccurate. Amundsen's discussion of early Christianity
includes suicide, martyrdom, and especially the Augustinian teaching on
suicide. He concludes that the court's treatment of the issue of suicide
in early Christianity is so historically and conceptually muddled as to
be fundamentally inaccurate. [Author abstract]
Angell, Marcia. The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide -- The Utimate Right.
[Editorial]. New England Journal of Medicine 336(1): 50-53, 2 January 1997.
- Paired with an editorial opposing physician-assisted suicide (PAS)
[See Foley], Angell argues in favor of permitting PAS under certain circumstances. Calling objections to PAS "...too doctor-centered and not sufficiently patient-centered," the author bases her rebuttal of the arguments against PAS on respect for patient autonomy and on the recognition that in certain circumstances, despite the best of care, "...death is not fair and is often cruel." Ending the editorial with a description of her father's suicide after receiving a diagnosis of metastatic cancer, Angell concludes that PAS "...is simply a part of good medical care." [KIE annotation]
Annas, George J.; Glantz, Leonard H.; Mariner, Wendy K., et al.
(Bioethics Professors Supporting Petitioners)
Brief of Amicus Curiae: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, and
Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC;
1996 Nov 12. 35 p.
Annas, George J.
Physician-assisted Suicide -- Michigan's Temporary Solution. New
England Journal of Medicine 328(21): 1573-1576, 27 May 1993.
- Kevorkian says, in effect, that medicine cannot change and that society must
therefore accept his methods as a reasonable alternative. The Michigan
legislature has properly rejected his approach. But the real issues are related
to medical practice, not the law, and the challenge Kevorkian presents to modern
medicine is real. Physicians must respond by listening to their dying patients,
comforting them, providing them with continuity of care and freedom from pain
and suffering (even to the extent of prescribing drugs they might use to end
their own lives), and bringing hospice care into mainstream medicine. If
physicians fail to meet this challenge, society will ultimately embrace the
solution that Kevorkian offers by medicalizing suicide the way we have already
medicalized death. [Author abstract]
Arras, John D.
Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Tragic View. In: Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate. Margaret P. Battin; Rosamond Rhodes; and Anita Silvers (eds.) New York, NY:
Routledge; 1998: 279-300.
- Noting that "...PAS poses a 'tragic choice' for society in the sense that whichever policy we embrace, there are bound to be victims," Arras examines two slippery slope arguments used against PAS and suggests that the alleviation of social amd medical deficiencies would circumvent most PAS requests. [KIE annotation]
B
Bachman, Jerald G.; Alcser, Kirsten H.; Doukas, David J.; Lichtenstein,
Richard L.; Corning, Amy D.;and Brody, Howard.
Attitudes of Michigan Physicians and the Public toward Legalizing
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia. New England Journal
of Medicine 334(5): 303-309, 1 February 1996.
- Background: There has been a continuing public debate about
assisted suicide and the proper role, if any, of physicians in this practice.
Legislative bans and various forms of legalization have been proposed.
Methods: We mailed questionnaires to three stratified random samples of
Michigan physicians in specialties likely to involve the care of terminally ill
patients: 500 in the spring of 1994, 500 in the summer of 1994, and 600 in the
spring of 1995. Similar questionnaires were mailed to stratified random samples
of Michigan adults: 449 in the spring of 1994 and 899 in the summer of 1994.
Several different questionnaire forms were used, all of which included questions
about whether physician-assisted suicide should be banned in Michigan or
legalized under certain conditions.
: Usable questionnaires were
returned by 1119 of 1518 physicians eligible for the study (74 percent), and 998
of 1307 eligible adults in the sample of the general public (76 percent). Asked
to choose between legalization of physician-assisted suicide and an explicit
ban, 56 percent of physicians and 66 percent of the public supported
legalization, 37 percent of physicians and 26 percent of the public preferred a
ban, and 8 percent of each group were uncertain. When the physicians were given
a wider range of choices, 40 percent preferred legalization, 37 percent
preferred "no law" (i.e., no government regulation), 17 percent favored
prohibition, and 5 percent were uncertain. If physician-assisted suicide were
legal, 35 percent of physicians said they might participate if requested -- 22
percent would participate in either assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia,
and 13 percent would participate only in assisted suicide. Support for
physician-assisted suicide was lowest among the strongly religious.
Conclusions: Most Michigan physicians prefer either the legalization of
physician-assisted suicide or no law at all; fewer than one fifth prefer a
complete ban on the practice. Given a choice between legalization and a ban, two
thirds of the Michigan public prefer legalization and one quarter prefer a
ban. [Author abstract]
Back, Anthony; Baker, Robert; Battin, Margaret P., et al.
(Bioethicists Supporting Respondents)
Brief of Amicus Curiae: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, and
Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC;
1996 Dec 10. 27 p.
Badham, Paul.
A Theological Examination of the Case for Euthanasia.
In his: Facing Death: An Interdisciplinary Approach. with Paul Ballard,ed. Cardiff: University of Wales
Press, 1996: 101-116.
- The author believes that in some cases voluntary assisted suicide could be considered an opportunity for a prayerful death within the Christian tradition, citing passages from the Bible as spiritual guidance for this view. [KIE annotation]
Baron, Charles H.; Gostin, Lawrence, et al.
(Law Professors in Support of Respondents)
Brief of Amicus Curiae: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, and
Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, DC;
1996 Dec 10. 27 p.
Battin, Margaret P.
Going Early, Going Late: The Rationality of Decisions About Suicide in
AIDS. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 19(6): 571-594, December 1994 .
- Where assistance in suicide is readily available to those
dying of AIDS, as in the West Coast gay communities of the United States and in
the Netherlands, we must examine the different roles of physicians and friends
(including lovers, spouses, family members, religious advisors, members of
support groups, and intimate others) in helping a person with AIDS decide about
and carry out suicide. This paper makes a central assumption: that where
assistance in suicide is available, it is the moral obligation of others to
protect and enhance as much as possible the rationality of that choice. Four
components are identified in a rational choice about suicide in AIDS -- whether
it is a choice for or against suicide. Phrased as questions a person with AIDS
might ask him- or herself, they are: (1) "Is suicide an option I want to
consider?" (2) "Shall I hold out for the chance of a cure?" (3) "How shall I
time my suicide?" (4) "What weight shall I give to the welfare and interests of
others?" Although physicians often make assertions relevant to (1), they are
appropriately involved only in (3); and although friends or intimate partners
often provide the patient with anecdotal information relevant to (3), they
should be involved primarily in (1). In short, both physicians and friends often
intervene in the wrong parts of choices made by a person with AIDS about
suicide. [Author abstract]
Battin, Margaret. On the Structure of the Euthanasia Debate: Observations Provoked by a Near-Perfect For-and-Against Book. [Review of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and Against by Gerald Dworkin, R. G. Frey, and Sissela Bok.] Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 25(2): 415-430, April 2000.
- This review provides a concise outline of the structure of the assisted dying debate which Battin believes shows "some progress - indeed, real growth - toward a more mature phase of the debate." [KIE annotation]
Battin, Margaret.
Voluntary Euthanasia and The Risk of Abuse: Can We Learn Anything From The
Netherlands? Law, Medicine and Health Care 20(1-2): 133-143, Spring-Summer 1992.
- In general, I think it is crucial to be as
clear and forthright about the issue of abuse as possible, even if one supports,
as I do, the legalization of aid-in-dying. In doing so, one must answer two
central questions: 1) Will there be abuse, and if so, precisely what kind? 2)
Can abuse of this sort be prevented? It is to the second of these questions that
I will be particularly attentive here. In doing so, I shall consider only the
possible effects of legalizing voluntary, active, physician-performed euthanasia
and physician-assisted suicide, restricted to cases in which such help is
requested by competent, terminally ill patients with less than 6 months to live
-- that is, I shall be considering only what Initiative 119 would have legalized
-- but some of the arguments will clearly apply to a wider range of possible
legislation as well.... [Author abstract]
Brahams, Diana.
The Right to Be Allowed to Die. Lancet 1(8372): 351-352, 11 February 1984.
- Commenting on the California case of Elizabeth Bouvia, a
quadreplegic who requested hospital assistance to alleviate suffering while she
starved herself to death, Brahams expresses the hope that no patient in the
United Kingdom will ever be forcibly fed against his or her wishes. Since
passage of Britain's Suicide Act of 1961, taking one's own life is not a crime,
although aiding a suicide is illegal. In a court case involving a book published
by the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, Mr. Justice Woolf ruled that giving the
booklet to another person could amount to encouraging suicide. Brahams contends
that provision of medical comfort does not constitute encouragement. She cites
the British government's decision not to force feed IRA hunger strikers, the
possibility that force feeding constitutes battery under British law, and a
Florida court ruling that a patient had the right to decline life prolonging
treatment. (KIE abstract)
Braun, Kathryn L.
Do Hawaii Residents Support Physician-Assisted Death? A cCmparison of
Five Ethnic Groups.
Hawaii Medical Journal 57(6): 529-534, June 1998.
- Surveyed were 250 adults in five ethnic groups -- Caucasian, Chinese,
Filipino, Hawaiian, and Japanese -- on questions about physician-assisted
death. When asked if there were any conditions under which
physician-assisted death should be allowed, 52% said yes, 19% said
perhaps, and 29% said no. Differences in response were seen, however, by
ethnicity (with less support among Filipinos and Hawaiians), by religious
affiliation (with less support among Catholics), and by educational
attainment (with greater support among college graduates). Given the
controversial nature of this topic, more public education and debate are
needed. Meanwhile, physicians are urged to expand discussions with
patients on their expectations about and options for end-of-life care. [Author abstract]
Brody, Howard.
Causing, Intending, and Assisting Death. Journal of Clinical
Ethics 4(2): 112-117, Summer 1993.
- Are there morally compelling differences among allowing a patient
to die by forgoing treatment, physician-assisted suicide, and active euthanasia?
And what follows for medical ethics and public policy if these differences do or
do not exist? Recently, Edmund D. Pellegrino has forcefully restated an old
argument in defense of a compelling difference: in active euthanasia or
physician-assisted suicide, the physician causes the patient's death, while in
forgoing treatment, the disease causes the patient's death. Similarly, Raymond
J. Devettere has argued that what makes active euthanasia immoral is that the
physician directly intends the patient's death, while in forgoing treatment, the
physician does not intend the patient's death. I have two purposes in this
article. The most obvious is to contend that these two arguments based on
causation and intention fail to do the work we ask of them, but in the end, that
failure does little to illuminate what public policy ought to be on
physician-assisted suicide or active euthanasia. The less obvious purpose is to
try to illustrate and develop a key concept in the rediscovery of casuistry as a
methodology in medical ethics. [Author abstract]
Brody, Howard.
Assisted Death -- A Compassionate Response to a Medical Failure. New
England Journal of Medicine 327(19):1384-1388, 5 November 1992.
- I argue here that an adjudication of assisted death
might follow from viewing it as a compassionate response to one sort of medical
failure, rather than as something to be prohibited outright or as something to
be established as a standard policy. This would seem to translate, in law, into
allowing compassionate and competent medical practice to serve as a defense
against a charge of homicide or of assisting a suicide. By assisted death I mean
either voluntary, active euthanasia, as now commonly practiced in the
Netherlands and as proposed in an unsuccessful referendum in Washington State in
1991, or assisted suicide, in which the patient is provided at his or her
request with sufficient medication or other means to end life, with the
knowledge that the patient intends to use the medication for that purpose. [Author abstract]
C
Callahan, Daniel.
When Self-Determination Runs Amok. Hastings Center Report 22(2): 52-55, March-April 1992.
- The euthanasia debate is not just
another moral debate, one in a long list of arguments in our pluralistic
society. It is profoundly emblematic of three important turning points in
Western thought. The first is that of the legitimate conditions under which one
person can kill another....The second turning point lies in the meaning and
limits of self-determination....The third turning point is to be found in the
claim being made upon medicine: it should be prepared to make its skills
available to individuals to help them achieve their private vision of the good
life....I believe that, at each of these three turning points, proponents of
euthanasia push us in the wrong direction. Arguments in favor of euthanasia fall
into four general categories, which I will take up in turn: (1) the moral claim
of individual self-determination and well-being; (2) the moral irrelevance of
the difference between killing and allowing to die; (3) the supposed paucity of
evidence to show likely harmful consequences of legalized euthanasia; and (4)
the compatibility of euthanasia and medical practice. [Author abstract]
Campbell, Courtney S.; Hare, Jan; and Matthews, Pam.
Conflicts of Conscience: Hospice and Assisted Suicide. Hastings Center
Report 25(3): 36-43, May-June 1995.
- Proposals to legalize
assisted suicide challenge hospice's identity and integrity. In the wake of
Measure 16, Oregon hospice programs must develop practical policies to balance
traditional commitments not to hasten death and not to abandon patients with
dying patients' legal right to request lethal prescriptions....The moral fallout
of Measure 16 involved a collapse of the shared value framework that has guided
hospice for the last two decades. [Author abstract]
Caplan, Arthur L.; Snyder, Lois; and Faber-Langendoen, Kathy. [University of Pennsylvania. Center for Bioethics. Assisted Suicide
Consensus Panel] The Role of Guidelines in the Practice of Physician-Assisted Suicide. Annals of Internal Medicine 132(6): 476-481, 21 March 2000.
Capron, Alexander Morgan.
Even in Defeat, Proposition 161 Sounds a Warning. Hastings Center
Report 23(1): 32-33, January-February 1993 .
- Occasionally law that isn't made may be as significant as law that is. One such instance was the
rejection on 3 November of Proposition 161 by a 54-46 majority of California
voters. Had this initiative passed, the state would have been the first in the
world since the Nazi era formally to permit physicians to perform active
euthanasia. Even though defeated, the strong showing for this ballot measure --
and the even stronger support it enjoyed outside the voting booth -- sounds a
loud alarm for health care professionals not just in California but across the
country. [Author abstract]
Cassel, Christine K., and Foley, Kathleen M. Priniciples for Care of Patients at the End of Life: An Emerging Consensus Among the Specialties of Medicine. New York, NY: Millbank Memorial Fund, December 1999.
Cassel, Christine K., and Meier, Diane E.
Morals and Moralism in the Debate over Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
New England Journal of Medicine 323(11): 750-752, 13 September 1990.
- In this Sounding Board essay, Cassel and Meier criticize
the reaction of the medical profession to a recent, highly-publicized case
involving the physician-assisted suicide of a patient said to be suffering from
the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. While acknowledging the disturbing
aspects of Janet Adkins' suicide with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Cassel and
Meier maintain that the uniform response by doctors condemning
physician-assisted suicide ignores the complexity of the issue. They argue that
the medical profession's strict prohibition against aiding death fails to take
into account the needs and values of patients or to acknowledge the limits of
medicine and the inevitability of death. They call for a broadening of the
debate over assisted suicide and euthanasia and a more thorough and thoughtful
analysis of the issues. (KIE abstract)
Cavanaugh, Thomas A.
The Nazi! Accusation and Current US Proposals.
Bioethics 11(3-4): 291-297, Jul-Oct 1997.
- In contemporary ethical discourse generally, and in discussions
concerning the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS)
and voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) specifically, recourse is
sometimes had to the Nazi! accusation. Some disputants charge
that such practices are or will become equivalent to the Nazi
'euthanasia' program in which over 73,000 handicapped children
and adults were killed without consent. This paper reflects on
the circumstances that lead to the use of this charge and offers
reasons for putting the Nazi! charge aside in contemporary
discussions of PAS and VAE. A number of the philosophical
presuppositions common to both the Nazi 'euthanasia' program and
the currently proposed practices of PAS and VAE are examined.
Noting that racist ideology and violent coercion characterized
the Nazi program, the paper concludes with a cautionary
consideration of the current circumstances that would specify PAS
and VAE in the US. [Author abstract]
CeloCruz, Maria T.
Aid-in-Dying: Should We Decriminalize Physician-Assisted Suicide and
Physician-Committed Euthanasia? [Note]. American Journal of Law and
Medicine 18(4): 369-394, 1992.
- Recent news stories, medical
journal articles, and two state voter referenda have publicized physicians'
providing their patients with aid-in-dying. This Note distinguishes two
components of aid-in-dying: physician-assisted suicide and physician-committed
voluntary active euthanasia. The Note traces these components' distinct
historical and legal treatments and critically examines arguments for and
against both types of action. This Note concludes that aid-in-dying measures
should limit legalization initiatives to physician-assisted suicide and should
not embrace physician-committed voluntary active euthanasia. [Author abstract]
Childs, Brian H.
The Last Chapter of the Book: Who is the Author? Christian
Reflections on Assisted Suicide.
Journal of Medical Humanities 18(1): 21-28, Spring 1997.
- In this paper the author argues that a narrative approach to
understanding assisted suicide has been compromised by the notion
that all narratives must be both coherent and unified. He asks
what we are to do with those narratives that cannot seem to
cohere or be other than full of disunity? Is suicide the only way
to make meaning out of suffering? He then proposes that the
narrative found in the Gospel of Mark leads Christians to a life
in hope and compassion in spite of apparent incoherence and
disunity and threats of abandonment and suffering.
Coulehan, Jack.
The Man with Stars Inside.
Annals of Internal Medicine 126(10): 799-802, 15 May 1997.
- Public opinion polls show that a large percentage of persons in
the United States currently favor the legalization of
professionally assisted death. This support reflects widespread
fear and confusion over the tortuously prolonged and painful
process of dying countenanced by contemporary medicine.
Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are complex moral
issues. The current drive to translate them into debates about
rights and public policy is curious: Does the energy directed
toward palliation-by-death mean that our society is more
compassionate now, or more just, than in the past? To the
contrary, I believe that the movement toward assisted death
reflects inadequate palliative care, poor patient-physician
communication, great confusion about the right to refuse
treatment, and profound inequity in U.S. health care.
Legalization of assisted death diverts us from addressing these
problems. Palliation-by-death will drive us farther apart, not
closer together. [Author abstract]
D
Degnin, Francis Dominic.
Levinas and the Hippocratic Oath: A Discussion of
Physician-Assisted Suicide.
Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 22(2): 99-123, April 1997.
- At least from the standpoint of contemporary cultural and ethical
resources, physicians have argued eloquently and exhaustively
both for and against physician-assisted suicide. If one avoids
the temptation to ruthlessly simplify either position to
immorality or error, then a strange dilemma arises. How is it
that well educated and intelligent physicians, committed strongly
and compassionately to the care of their patients, argue
adamantly for opposing positions? Thus rather than simply
rehashing old arguments, this essay attempts to rethink the
nature of human morality as both a source and a fracturing of
human rationality- and with morality, the question of human
nature in the context of violence, oppression, service, and
obligation. This interpretation of moral life is laid out roughly
along the lines of the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, and
further clarified through a discussion of the Hippocratic Oath.
These resources are then brought to bear on the specific
arguments and recommendations concerning physician-assisted
suicide. [Author abstract]
Dellinger, Walter; Hunger, Frank W.; Waxman, Seth P., et al.
(United States).
Brief of Amicus Curiae for the United States Supporting
Petitioners: Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Nov 12. 32 p.
Dellinger, Walter; Hunger, Frank W.; Waxman, Seth P., et al.
(United States).
Brief of Amicus Curiae for the United States Supporting
Petitioners: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Nov 12. 21 p.
Drickamer, Margaret A.; Lee, Melinda A.; and Ganzini, Linda.
Practical Issues in Physician-Assisted Suicide.
Annals of Internal Medicine 126(2): 146-51, 15 January 1997.
- Support for the participation of physicians in the suicides of
terminally ill patients is increasing, and the concrete effects
on physician practice of a policy change with regard to
physician-assisted suicide must be carefully considered. If
physician-assisted suicide is legalized, physicians will need to
gain expertise in understanding patients' motivations for
requesting physician-assisted suicide, assessing mental status,
diagnosing and treating depression, maximizing palliative
interventions, and evaluating the external pressures on the
patient. They will be asked to prognosticate not only about life
expectancy but also about the onset of functional and cognitive
decline. They will need access to reliable information about
effective medications and dosages. The physician's position on
physician-assisted suicide must be open to discussion between
practitioner and patient. Protection of the patient's right to
confidentiality must be balanced against the need of health care
professionals and institutions to know about the patient's
choice. Insurance coverage and managed care options may be
affected. All of these issues need to be further explored through
research, education, decision making by individual practitioners,
and ongoing societal debate. [Author abstract]
Dworkin, Gerald; Frey, R.G.; and Bok Sissela. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: For and Against. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 139 p.
- Part One, written by Dworkin and Frey (and presenting the `for' side of the book), theorizes on the the limits of medicine, distinctions in death, fear of the slippery slope and moral dilemmas in making assisted suicide public policy. Part Two by Sissela Bok looks at debates concerning individual control at the end of life, the three main categories of contemporary views in choosing death and taking life, freedom to choose death, the history and background for and against suicide and indicates that legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide entails grave risks, dealing inadequately with the needs of the dying, particularly if these patients have no health insurance. [KIE abstract]
Dworkin, Ronald; Nagel, Thomas; Nozick, Robert; Rawls, John;
Scanlon, Thomas; Thomson, Judith Jarvis.
Brief of Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents: Washington v.
Glucksberg, No. 96-110, and Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Dec 10. 22 p.
E
Emanuel, Ezekiel J., and Daniels, Elisabeth.
Oregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Law: Provisions and Problems.
Archives of Internal Medicine 156(8): 825-829, 22 April 1996.
- The Oregon Death With Dignity Act constitutes
a major change in social policy and the practices of medicine. Regardless of
one's position on the ethics of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, the
law raises serious problems that must be addressed prior to implementation: (1)
its safeguards fail to ensure that assistd suicide be offered appropriately as
an option only after efforts to treat reversible conditions have been exhausted
and (2) its monitoring system fails to ensure that the consequence of change in
social policy will be adequately evaluated. [Author abstract]
Emanuel, Ezekiel J. What Is the Great Benefit of Legalizing Euthanasia or Physician-Assisted Suicide? Ethics 109(3): 629-642, April 1999.
- Noting that the current debate on legalizing physician assisted suicide has centered on the care of individuals, the author proposes that the discussion be refocused around the question of what constitutes a good death. [KIE abstract]
Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. Committee on Medical Ethics
(Chair: Cynthia B. Cohen)
Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Christian Moral Perspectives
(The Washington Report).
Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1997. 92 p.
F
Foley, Kathleen M.
Competent Care for the Dying Instead of Physician-Assisted Suicide.
[Editorial]. New England Journal of Medicine 336(1): 54-58, 2 January 1997.
- Paired with an editorial in favor of physician-assisted suicide (PAS),[See Angell] the author suggests that the debate over PAS provides a "...unique opportunity to engage the public, health care professionals, and the government in a national discussion of how American medicine and society should address the needs of dying patients and their families." Foley believes that "...[i]f legalized, physician-assisted suicide will be a substitute for rational therapeutic, psychological, and social interventions that might otherwise enhance the quality of life for patients who are dying." [KIE annotation]
G
Ganzini, Linda ; Nelson, Heidi D. ; Schmidt, Terri A. ; Kraemer, Dale F.
; Delorit, Molly A. ; and Lee, Melinda A.
Physicians' Experiences with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.
New England Journal of Medicine 342(8): 557-563, 24 February 2000.
- Physician-assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon in October
1997. There are data on patients who have received prescriptions for
lethal medications and died after taking the medications. There is little
information, however, on physicians' experiences with requests for
assistance with suicide. METHODS: Between February and August 1999, we
mailed a questionnaire to physicians who were eligible to prescribe
lethal medications under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. RESULTS: Of
4053 eligible physicians, 2649 (65 percent) returned the survey. Of the
respondents, 144 (5 percent) had received a total of 221 requests for
prescriptions for lethal medications since October 1997. We received
information on the outcome in 165 patients (complete information for 143
patients and partial for on an additional 22). The mean age of the
patients was 68 years; 76 percent had an estimated life expectancy of
less than six months. Thirty-five percent requested a prescription from
another physician. Twenty-nine patients (18 percent) received
prescriptions, and 17 (10 percent) died from administering the prescribed
medication. Twenty percent of the patients had symptoms of depression;
none of these patients received a prescription for a lethal medication.
In the case of 68 patients, including 11 who received prescriptions and 8
who died by taking the prescribed medication, the physician implemented
at least one substantive palliative intervention, such as control of pain
or other symptoms, referral to a hospice program, a consultation, or a
trial of antidepressant medication. Forty-six percent of the patients for
whom substantive interventions were made changed their minds about
assisted suicide, as compared with 15 percent of those for whom no
substantive interventions were made (P less than 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our
data indicate that in Oregon, physicians grant about 1 in 6 requests for
a prescription for a lethal medication and that 1 in 10 requests actually
result in suicide. Substantive palliative interventions lead some -- but
not all -- patients to change their minds about assisted suicide. [Author abstract]
Ganzini, Linda; Fenn, Darien S.; Lee, Melinda A.; Heintz,
Ronald T.; and Bloom, Joseph D.
Attitudes of Oregon Psychiatrists Toward Physician-Assisted
Suicide.
American Journal of Psychiatry 153(11): 1469-1475, November 1996.
- OBJECTIVE: After passage, in November 1994, of Oregon's ballot
measure legalizing physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill
persons, the authors surveyed psychiatrists in Oregon to
determine their attitudes toward assisted suicide, the factors
influencing these attitudes, and how they might both respond to
and follow up a request by a primary care physician to evaluate a
terminally ill patient desiring assisted suicide. METHOD: An
anonymous questionnaire was sent to all 418 Oregon psychiatrists.
RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent of psychiatrists (N = 321)
returned the questionnaire. Two-thirds endorsed the view that a
physician should be permitted, under some circumstances, to write
a prescription for a medication whose sole purpose would be to
allow a patient to end his or her life. One-third endorsed the
view that this practice should never be permitted. Over half
favored Oregon's assisted suicide initiative becoming law.
Psychiatrists' position on legalization of assisted suicide
influenced the likelihood that they would agree to evaluate
patients requesting assisted suicide and how they would follow up
an evaluation of a competent patient desiring assisted suicide.
Only 6% of psychiatrists were very confident that in a single
evaluation they could adequately assess whether a psychiatric
disorder was impairing the judgment of a patient requesting
assisted suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrists in Oregon are
divided in their belief about the ethical permissibility of
assisted suicide, and their moral beliefs influence how they
might evaluate a patient requesting assisted suicide, should this
practice be legalized. Psychiatrists' confidence in their ability
to determine whether a psychiatric disorder such as depression
was impairing the judgment of a patient requesting assisted
suicide was low. [Author abstract]
Gevers, J.K.M.
Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Dutch Courts. Cambridge Quarterly
of Healthcare Ethics 5(1): 93-99, Winter 1996.
- .Until recently, little attention was paid to PAS [physician-assisted suicide] as such.
During the last years, however, several cases of PAS that do not resemble the
usual euthanasia cases have been brought before the [Dutch] courts. Most of
these new cases do not concern patients suffering from serious somatic disases,
like terminal cancers, but psychiatric patients. They have raised several
questions. Could PAS be justified when psychiatric patients are concerned? Could
it be allowed when the person in question wants to commit suicide, not primarily
because of an unbearable illness or disability that leaves no hope for the
future, but rather because of intolerable life circumstances? This article
discusses the recent court decisions in which these questions, at least to some
extent, have been addressed. [Author abstract]
Gevers, Sjef.
Physician Assisted Suicide: New Developments in the Netherlands.
Bioethics 9(3/4): 309-312, July 1995.
- Until recently, physician assisted suicide was dealt with on the same basis as active voluntary
euthanasia in the Netherlands. Over the last years, several cases relating to
assistance in suicide of mental patients did raise specific issues, not
addressed so far in the debate on euthanasia. One of these cases resulted in a
Supreme Court decision. The paper summarizes this decision and comments on it
from a legal point of view. [Author abstract]
Glucksberg, Harold; Halperin, Abigail; Preston, Thomas A.;
Shalit, Peter.
Brief for Respondents: Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Dec 10. 48 p.
Gostin, Lawrence O.
Drawing a Line Between Killing and Letting Die: The Law, and Law Reform, on
Medically Assisted Dying. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 21(1): 94-101, Spring 1993.
- While much has been written about the
professional ethics of physician assisted dying, little is known about where the
law draws the line, whether the law is enforced in practice, and how the law
should be reformed to reflect changing public opinion and ethical thought. This
article addresses these questions and the need for clearer public policy [in the
United States] on physician assisted dying. [Author abstract]
Gregoire, Christine O.
(Washington).
Brief for the Petitioners: Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Nov 12. 61 p.
Gregoire, Christine O.
(Washington).
Reply Brief for Petitioners: Washington v. Glucksberg, No.
96-110.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Dec 26. 20 p.
Groenewoud, Johanna H. ; van der Heide, Agnes ; Onwuteaka-Philipsen,
Bregje D. ; Willems, Dick L. ; van der Maas, Paul J. ; and van der Wal,
Gerrit.
Clinical Problems with the Performance of Euthanasia and
Physician-Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands.
New England Journal of Medicine 342(8): 551-556, 24 February 2000.
- The characteristics and frequency of clinical
problems with the performance of euthanasia and physician-assisted
suicide are uncertain. We analyzed data from two studies of euthanasia
and physician-assisted suicide in The Netherlands (one conducted in 1990
and 1991 and the other in 1995 and 1996), with a total of 649 cases. We
categorized clinical problems as technical problems, such as difficulty
inserting an intravenous line; complications, such as myoclonus or
vomiting; or problems with completion, such as a longer-than-expected
interval between the administration of medications and death. RESULTS: In
114 cases, the physician's intention was to provide assistance with
suicide, and in 535, the intention was to perform euthanasia. Problems of
any type were more frequent in cases of assisted suicide than in cases of
euthanasia. Complications occurred in 7 percent of cases of assisted
suicide, and problems with completion (a longer-than-expected time to
death, failure to induce coma, or induction of coma followed by awakening
of the patient) occurred in 16 percent of the cases; complications and
problems with completion occurred in 3 percent and 6 percent of cases of
euthanasia, respectively. The physician decided to administer a lethal
medication in 21 of the cases of assisted suicide (18 percent), which
thus became cases of euthanasia. The reasons for this decision included
problems with completion (in 12 cases) and the inability of the patient
to take all the medications (in 5). CONCLUSIONS: There may be clinical
problems with the performance of euthanasia and physician-assisted
suicide. In the Netherlands, physicians who intend to provide assistance
with suicide sometimes end up administering a lethal medication
themselves because of the patient's inability to take the medication or
because of problems with the completion of physician-assisted suicide. [Author abstract]
Groenewoud, Johanna H.; van der Maas, Paul J.; van der Wal,
Gerrit; Hengeveld, Michiel W.; Tholen, Alfons J.; Schudel,
Willem J.; and van der Heide, Agnes. Physician-Assisted Death in
Psychiatric Practice in the Netherlands. New England Journal of
Medicine 336(25): 1795-1801, 19 June 1997.
- In 1994 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that in
exceptional instances, physician-assisted suicide might be
justifiable for patients with unbearable mental suffering but no
physical illness. We studied physician-assisted suicide and
euthanasia in psychiatric practice in the Netherlands. METHODS:
In 1996, we sent questionnaires to 673 Dutch psychiatrists --
about half of all such specialists in the country -- and received
552 responses from the 667 who met the study criteria (response
rate, 83 percent). We estimated the annual frequencies of
requests for physician-assisted suicide by psychiatrists and
actual instances of assistance. RESULTS: Of the respondents, 205
(37 percent) had at least once received an explicit, persistent
request for physician-assisted suicide and 12 had complied. We
estimate there are 320 requests a year in psychiatric practice
and 2 to 5 assisted suicides. Excluding those who had ever
assisted, 345 of the respondents (64 percent) thought
physician-assisted suicide because of a mental disorder could be
acceptable, including 241 who said they could conceive of
instances in which they themselves would be willing to assist.
The most frequent reasons for refusing were the belief that the
patient had a treatable mental disorder, opposition to assisted
suicide in principle, and doubt that the suffering was unbearable
or hopeless. Most, but not all, patients who had been assisted by
their psychiatrists in suicide had both a mental disorder and a
serious physical illness, often in a terminal phase. Thirty
percent of the respondents had been consulted at least once by a
physician in another specialty about a patient's request for
assisted death. The annual number of such consultations was
estimated at 310, about 3 percent of the estimated 9700 requests
for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in medical practice.
CONCLUSIONS: Explicit requests for physician-assisted suicide are
not uncommon in psychiatric practice in the Netherlands, but
these requests are rarely granted. Psychiatric consultation for
medical patients who request physician-assisted death is
relatively rare. [Author abstract]
Gunderson, Martin.
A Right to Suicide Does Not Entail a Right to Assisted Death.
Journal of Medical Ethics 23(1): 51-54, February 1997.
- Many people believe that it is permissible for people who are
suffering from terminal illnesses to commit suicide or even that
such people have a right to commit suicide. Some have also argued
that it follows that it is permissible for them, or that they
have a right, to use the assistance of another person. First, I
assume that it is permissible for a person to commit suicide and
ask whether it follows that it is also permissible for the person
to employ an agent to assist in the death. Second, I assume that
people have a right to commit suicide and ask whether it follows
that the right holders have a right to employ an agent to assist
with the death. I argue that the permissibility of suicide does
not by itself entail the permissibility of employing someone to
assist in the suicide. I also argue that the right to commit
suicide does not by itself entail the right to assisted death.
Instead, what follows is that there is a right not to have
unreasonable restrictions placed on the means by which one can
exercise one's right to commit suicide. Whether a restriction is
reasonable depends on the conclusion reached when one has weighed
a number of policy considerations. [Author abstract]
Gunderson, Martin; Mayo, David J.
Altruism and Physician Assisted Death. Journal of Medicine and
Philosophy 18(3): 281-295, June 1993.
- We assume that a statute permitting physician assisted death has been passed. We note that the rationale
for the passage of such a statute would be respect for individual autonomy, the
avoidance of suffering and the possibility of death with dignity. We deal with
two moral issues that will arise once such a law is passed. First, we argue that
the rationale for passing an assistance in dying law in the first place provides
a justification for assisting patients to die who are motivated by altruistic
reasons as well as patients who are motivated by reasons of self-interest.
Second, we argue that the reasons for passing a physician assisted death law in
the first place justify extending the law to cover some non-terminal patients as
well as terminal patients. [Author abstract]
H
Haverkate, Ilinka; Muller, Martien T.; Cappetti, Mirjam; Jonkers, Freerk; and van der Wal, Gerrit. Prevalence and Content Analysis Guidelines on Handling Requests for Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide in Dutch Nursing Homes. Archives of Internal Medicine 160(3): 317-324, February 14, 2000.
- The growing number of requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide make it imperative that "all official requirements for prudent practice" be observed. The authors found variations in the guidelines usage, with only 65% complying with all requirements. [KIE annotation]
Haverkate, I., and van der Wal, G.
Dutch Nursing Home Policies and Guidelines on Physician-Assisted Death
and Decisions to Forego Treatment.
Public Health 112(6): 419-423, November 1998.
- The purpose of this study was to describe: (a) the prevalence
and content of policies on euthanasia or assisted suicide (EAS) in three
different types of nursing homes; (b) specific content items of written
guidelines for EAS; and (c) the prevalence of guidelines on withholding
or withdrawing treatment from severely demented patients and patients in
a persistent vegetative state in the nursing homes. DESIGN: Descriptive,
cross-sectional. METHODS: We have used a postal survey among directors of
patient care of all (n = 304) Dutch somatic nursing homes (meant for
physically handicapped patients), psychogeriatric nursing homes (meant
for patients suffering from dementia) and combined nursing homes. Data
were collected from October 1994 through January 1995. RESULTS: Results
indicate that psychogeriatric nursing homes less often had a written EAS
policy than somatic and combined nursing homes (62, 68 and 80%
respectively). The most frequently reported aspects in the EAS
guidelines, by the nursing homes with guidelines based on a policy that
EAS was accepted under certain conditions; were consultation of another
physician (97%), referral to another physician if the attending physician
had in-principle objections (82%), and the involvement of the nurse in
the decision-making procedure (82%). Of the nursing homes, 9% reported
having specific written procedures concerning withholding or withdrawing
treatment from severely demented patients. CONCLUSION: Guidelines in the
nursing homes on euthanasia and assisted suicide might be improved.
Especially with regard to withholding or withdrawing treatment from
incompetent patients, more guidelines should be developed. [Author abstract]
Hendin, Herbert; Rutenfrans, Chris; and Zylicz, Zbigniew.
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Netherlands:
Lessons from the Dutch.
JAMA 277(21): 1720-1722, 4 June 1997.
- For 2 decades, both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia
have been given legal sanction in the Netherlands. In response to
domestic and international concern about their policies, the
Dutch government appointed a commission that oversaw a study of
the practice of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in
1990. That study, which was largely replicated in a 1995 study,
was supported by the Royal Dutch Medical Association with the
promise that physicians who participated would receive immunity
from prosecution for anything they revealed. In 1996, the
investigators published a report of their new findings in Dutch
and summarized their work in 2 articles in the
, which was supported by an editorial in that
journal. These reports have given a favorable interpretation to
what could be seen as evidence of little or no improvement by
declaring that since matters have not grown worse there is no
evidence physicians in the Netherlands are moving down a
slippery slope. That conclusion is misleading. [Author abstract]
Hogan, Christopher; Lynn, Joanne; Gabel, Jon; Lunney, June; O'Mara, Ann; and Wilkinson, Anne. Medicare Beneficiaries' Costs and Use of Care in the Last Year of Life: Final Report. [Submitted to Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Washington, DC, May 1, 2000] Online: Available for Download at
Center to Improve Care of the Dying: Reshaping Medicare
- Providing statistical data for Medicare expenditures for end-of-life care, this report focuses on such key measures as hospital versus hospice services, site of death, patient race and ethnicity of patients, and physician involvement by speciality.
I
- Is there a right to die? Christian Century 114(3): 70-71, 22 January 1997.
- This news article documents the immediate response of religious groups to the Supreme Court's decision to hear arguments on the legality of assisted suicide. [KIE annotation]
J
Jochemsen, Henk.
Euthanasia in Holland: an Ethical Critique of the New Law. Journal of
Medical Ethics 20(4): 212-217, December 1994.
- In the Netherlands the government's proposal for the legal regulation of euthanasia,
assisted suicide and the termination of a patient's life without request has
been approved by Parliament. The defence of this proposal is to a large extent
based on a specific interpretation of data about the practice of euthanasia in
that country, published in 1991 (the
). This paper discusses
both the interpretation of the data and the new law. On the basis of that and
other data, the author concludes that many cases of euthanasia, assisted suicide
and termination of a patient's life without request remain unnotified and
therefore unreviewed by the legal authorities. It is argued that the new law
will not guarantee an improvement to this situation. In short, the new law will
not protect effectively the lives of patients, and must, therefore, be open to
ethical and legal objection. [Author abstract]
Jonsen, Albert R.
Living with Euthanasia: A Futuristic Scenario. Journal of Medicine and
Philosophy 18(3): 241-251, June 1993.
- In 1991 and 1992, citizens of Washington State and California voted on whether "aid-in-dying"
should be legalized. In both states, the proposition was defeated. In this
article, the author, who participated in the Washington State campaign, imagines
what might have happened in the fictitious State of Redwood, had such a proposal
passed. [Author abstract]
K
Kade, Walter J. Death With Dignity: A Case Study. Annals of Internal Medicine 132(6): 504-506, 21 March 2000.
- The author, a physician who voted against the Oregon Death With Dignity Act but subsequently received a request to help a young patient in her suicide, describes the emotional turmoil he experienced while aiding her. [KIE annotation]
Kelleher, Michael J. ; Chambers, Derek ; Corcoran, Paul ; Keeley, Helen
S. ; and Williamson, Eileen.
Euthanasia and Related Practices Worldwide.
Crisis 19(3): 109-115, 1998.
- The present paper examines the occurrence of matters relating to the
ending of life, including active euthanasia, which is, technically
speaking, illegal worldwide. Interest in this most controversial area is
drawn from many varied sources, from legal and medical practitioners to
religious and moral ethicists. In some countries, public interest has
been mobilized into organizations that attempt to influence legislation
relating to euthanasia. Despite the obvious international importance of
euthanasia, very little is known about the extent of its practice,
whether passive or active, voluntary or involuntary. This examination is
based on questionnaires completed by 49 national representatives of the
International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), dealing with
legal and religious aspects of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide,
as well as suicide. A dichotomy between the law and medical practices
relating to the end of life was uncovered by the results of the survey.
In 12 of the 49 countries active euthanasia is said to occur while a
general acceptance of passive euthanasia was reported to be widespread.
Clearly, definition is crucial in making the distinction between active
and passive euthanasia; otherwise, the entire concept may become
distorted, and legal acceptance may become more widespread with the
effect of broadening the category of individuals to whom euthanasia
becomes an available option. The "slippery slope" argument is briefly
considered. [Author abstract]
Kinsella, T. Douglas; Verhoef, Marja J.
Assisted Suicide: Opinions of Alberta Physicians.
Clinical and Investigative Medicine 18(5):
406-412, October 1995.
- The legal status of assisted suicide and active euthanasia are
receiving increasing attention among physicians, legislators, the
judiciary, and public lobby groups. Many seem to assume that
these forms of assisted dying reside naturally within the
practice of medicine but, surprisingly, comprehensive data about
the opinions of Canadian physicians are not available. We report
the results of a survey of the opinions of Alberta physicians
about assisted suicide, compare their opinions to those about
active euthanasia, and determine their relationships with various
demographic and bioethical matters. A stratified random sample (n
= 2,002) was drawn from all Alberta physicians. The response rate
was 69% (1,391) and was representative of the reference
population for age, sex, and type of practice. Fifty-five percent
believed assisted suicide should remain a criminal offence,
whereas 18% did not, and 27% were uncertain. Strong relationships
were found between opinions about assisted suicide, and age and
religious activity. These data demonstrate no ground swell of
support by Alberta physicians for the decriminalization of
assisted suicide. Our data confirm the need for a national study
of the opinions of Canadian physicians about physician-assisted
dying, and caution against precipitate changes in relevant
legislation and health policy. [Author abstract]
Kowalski, Susan D. Assisted Suicide: Is There a Future? Ethical
and Nursing Considerations. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
19(1): 45-54, May 1996.
- It is imperative that nurses take a personal and professional
stand in the debate regarding physician-assisted suicide. Through
case examples, this article defines and illustrates forms of
euthanasia, including active and passive, voluntary and
involuntary, double-effect, physician-assisted suicide, and
physician aid-in-dying. Ethical arguments against assisted
suicide based on pain and suffering, quality of life, patient
autonomy, and the common good are presented. The anticipated
negative effects that legalized physician-assisted death would
pose to the health professions and society are discussed.
Guidelines and nursing implications conclude the article. [Author abstract]
L
Lavery, James V.; Dickens, Bernard M.; Boyle, Joseph M.; Singer, Peter A.
Bioethics for Clinicians: 11. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
Canadian Medical Association Journal 156(10): 1405-1408, 15 May 1997.
- Euthanasia and assisted suicide involve taking deliberate action
to end or assist in ending the life of another person on
compassionate grounds. There is considerable disagreement about
the acceptability of these acts and about whether they are
ethically distinct from decisions to forgo life-sustaining
treatment. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are punishable
offences under Canadian criminal law, despite increasing public
pressure for a more permissive policy. Some Canadian physicians
would be willing to practise euthanasia and assisted suicide if
these acts were legal. In practice, physicians must differentiate
between respecting competent decisions to forgo treatment,
providing appropriate palliative care, and acceeding to a request
for euthanasia or assisted suicide. Physicians who believe that
euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legally accepted in
Canada should pursue their convictions only through legal and
democratic means. [Author Abstract]
Lee, Melinda A.; Nelson, Heidi D.; Tilden, Virginia P.; Ganzini, Linda;
Schmidt, Terri A.; and Tolle, Susan W.
Legalizing Assisted Suicide -- Views of Physicians in Oregon. New
England Journal of Medicine 334(5): 310-315, 1 February 1996.
-
: Since the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was passed in November
1994, physicians in Oregon have faced the prospect of legalized
physician-assisted suicide. We studied the attitudes and current practices of
Oregon physicians in relation to assisted suicide.
: From March to June
1995, we conducted a cross-sectional mailed survey of all physicians who might
be eligible to prescribe a lethal dose of medication if the Oregon law is
upheld. Physicians were asked to complete and return a confidential 56-item
questionnaire.
: Of the 3944 eligible physicians who received the
questionnaire, 2761 (70 percent) responded. Sixty percent of the respondents
thought physician-assisted suicide should be legal in some cases, and nearly
half (46 percent) might be willing to prescribe a lethal dose of medication if
it were legal to do so; 31 percent of the respondents would be unwilling to do
so on moral grounds. Twenty-one percent of the respondents have previously
received requests for assisted suicide, and 7 percent have complied. Half the
respondents were not sure what to prescribe for this purpose, and 83 percent
cited financial pressure as a possible reason for such requests. The respondents
also expressed concern about complications of suicide attempts and doubts about
their ability to predict survival at six months accurately.
:
Oregon physicians have a more favorable attitude toward legalized
physician-assisted suicide, are more willing to participate, and are currently
participating in greater numbers than other surveyed groups of physicians in the
United States. A sizable minority of physicians in Oregon objects to
legalization and participation on moral grounds. Regardless of their attitudes,
physicians had a number of reservations about the practical applications of the
act. [Author abstract]
Little, Miles. Assisted Suicide, Suffering and the Meaning of a Life. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 20(3): 287-298, June 1999.
- Noting that the "ethical problems surrounding voluntary assisted suicide remain formidable, and are unlikely to be resolved in pluralist societies," Little examines historical, religious, and moral attitudes toward suicide and says that it is necessary for arguments seeking to justify ending the lives of others to be grounded "in concepts of the meaning of life." [KIE annotation]
Loewy, Erich H.
Healing and Killing, Harming and Not Harming: Physician Participation in
Euthanasia and Capital Punishment. Journal of Clinical Ethics 3(1): 29-34, Spring 1992.
- I have argued that communities that kill
for other reasons and those that have legalized suicide find themselves in an
illogical position when they deny necessary help to hopelessly ill and suffering
would-be suicides who are incapable of carrying out their will. That, however,
does not address the question of the probity (or wisdom) of physicians actively
helping their patients to die or of allowing physicians to act in this manner.
It might be the case that something deeply embedded in the medical ethos
precludes physicians from acting in such a way; or it may be that society does
not wish to give such power to its physicians. I have suggested that the way we
look at "harm" is the crux of the matter. [Author abstract]
Lynn, Joanne; Cohn, Felicia; Pickering, John H.; Smith, Joel; and Stoeppelwerth, Ali M. American Geriatrics Society on Physician-Assisted Suicide: Brief to the United States Supreme Court. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 45(4): 489-499, April 1997.
- The authors describe the development of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) amicus curiae brief on physician-assisted suicide, and summarize the legal arguments brought forth in the amicus brief of the Project on Death in America of the Open Society Institute upon which the AGS brief was based. The full text of the AGS brief is included after the discussion. [KIE annotation]
Lynn, Joanne; Harrold, Joan; and The Center to Improve Care of the Dying.
Handbook For Mortals: Guidance For People Facing Serious Illness. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 242 p.
- [This compendium contains] a wealth of sensible advice on how to make decisions about care, where to find support and treatment resources, how to communicate with physicians, how to get
effective pain management, when to let go of medical treatment, issues in hastening death, and a host of other fundamental concerns. There's a discussion of the ethical
issues of assisted suicide that balances arguments from several sides of the question. [Author abstract]
M
Matz, Robert ; Sulmasy, Daniel P. ; and Pellegrino, Edmund D.
Euthanasia: Morals and Ethics. [Letter and Response].
Archives of Internal Medicine 159(15): 1815-1816, 9-23 August 1999.
Mayo, David J.; and Gunderson, Martin.
Physician Assisted Death and Hard Choices. Journal of Medicine and
Philosophy 18(3): 329-341, June 1993.
- We argue that after the
passage of a physician assisted death law some inequities in the health care
system which prevent people from getting the medical care they need will become
reasons for choosing assisted death. This raises the issue of whether there is
compelling moral reason to change those inequities after the passage of an
assisted death law. We argue that the passage of an assisted death law will not
create additional moral reasons for eliminating inequities
because they
become motives for someone to opt for assisted death. We also argue that it is
not feasible to eliminate these reasons for opting for assisted death by
granting a right to health care because of an intractable scarcity of medical
resources. [Author abstract]
McGough, Peter M.
Washington State Initiative 119: The First Public Vote on Legalizing
Physician-Assisted Death. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
2(1): 63-67, Winter 1993.
- In the fall of 1991, voters in
Washington state were asked to consider a public initiative that sought to
legalize physician-assisted death: Initiative 119. Drafted by Washington
Citizens for Death with Dignity, the initiative was intended to amend the
existing state natural death act in several ways....It was the proposal to
legalize "aid-in-dying," however, that represented a radical shift in the
conduct of physicians towards their patients and a dramatic shift in social
policy...."Aid-in-dying," as defined in Initiative 119, would have legalized
something more: the injection of lethal drugs by physicians with the primary
intent of killing their patient. Had 119 passed, Washington would have become
the first region in the world where active euthanasia would have been legally
permitted by statute and provided by the medical profession....Everyone wants
death with dignity. Clearly, even when everything that compassionate medicine
can do is provided to all dying patients, there will still be those that suffer
terribly. Yet, in trying to help these patients by legalizing physician-assisted
death, society would be establishing a dangerous precedent that potentially
could create greater harm. Although Washington's Initiative 119 was defeated by
a vote of 54% to 46%, the emotional debate on active euthanasia will undoubtedly
continue. [Author abstract]
Meier, Diane E.
Physician-Assisted Dying: Theory and Reality. Journal of Clinical
Ethics 3(1): 35-37, Spring 1992.
- There appears to be a
conflation of physician-assisted suicide (the doctor makes the means of suicide
available by, for example, writing a prescription for barbiturates) with active
euthanasia (the doctor actively intervenes to kill the patient). I believe that
these two entities are quite distinct in terms of several factors: they require
very different roles for the physician, they involve distinct and disparate
power relationships between physician and patient, and they would likely have a
substantially different impact on the ethos of the medical profession. Thus, I
would argue that it may be reasonable to support easing constraints on
physician-assisted suicide while retaining them for active euthanasia, and that
the distinction between the two entities should be addressed, particularly in
discussions of legalization. [Author abstract]
Miller, Franklin G.; Quill, Timothy E.; Brody, Howard; Fletcher, John C.;
Gostin, Lawrence O.; and Meier, Diane E.
Regulating Physician-Assisted Death. New England Journal of
Medicine 331(2): 119-123, 14 July 1994.
-
: The
ethical norms of relieving suffering and respecting patients' rights to
self-determination support the permissibility of voluntary physician-assisted
death as a last resort for terminally or incurably ill patients. The
availability of the extraordinary option of lethal treatment, however, must be
accompanied by careful regulation to minimize the risk of abuse. We recommend
that physician-assisted death be legalized with adequate safeguards to protect
vulnerable patients, preserve the professional integrity of physicians, and
ensure accountability to the public. The policy we have outlined would ensure
independent and impartial review of decisions to provide physician-assisted
death in response to unrelievable suffering, without undue disruption of the
doctor-patient relationship. We hope one or more states will decide
democratically to expand the options for dying or incurably ill patients by
implementing a policy that both promotes comfort care and permits voluntary
physician-assisted death as a last resort. [Author abstract]
Miller, Franklin G.; and Brody, Howard.
Professional Integrity and Physician-Assisted Death. Hastings Center
Report 25(3): 8-17, May-June 1995.
- The practice of voluntary
physician-assisted death as a last resort is compatible with doctors' duties to
practice competently, to avoid harming patients unduly, to refrain from medical
fraud, and to preserve patients' trust. It therefore does not violate
physicians' professional integrity....A narrative account of how a profession
has evolved over time remains a key mode of discovering elements of professional
integrity....Some proponents might argue that professional integrity in some
cases
a physician to assist in the death of a patient by prescribing
or administering a lethal dose of medication....How can persons trust doctors
who have the socially sanctioned power to kill patients? [Author abstract]
Misbin, Robert I.
Physicians' Aid in Dying. New England Journal of Medicine 325(18): 1307-1311, 31 October 1991.
- If Initiative 119 passes,
Washington will be the only state in the nation in which euthanasia and assisted
suicide can be practiced legally. Physicians in Washington should therefore be
prepared to be deluged with requests from all over the country and abroad. The
Adkins-Kevorkian affair shows that some patients may be so desperate to obtain a
physician's aid in dying that they will travel long distances. Similarly, Dutch
physicians report that they receive many requests for euthanasia from people all
over the world. For Washington to become a center for physician-assisted dying
might not necessarily be inappropriate. Patients with difficult or unusual
medical problems often travel to special centers for treatment. I can imagine
that a patient with cancer would be willing to travel to Washington for
intensive chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplantation, with the
expectation of being able to receive a physician's aid in dying in case things
turned out badly. On the other hand, the situation could easily be abused. I can
imagine the horror of a euthanasia clinic in Washington at which patients
arrive, undergo a superficial medical evaluation, sign a form, and are then
euthanized. It will be incumbent on supporters of Initiative 119 to see to it
that the measure's beneficent motives are not transformed into a windfall for
self-serving doctors willing to profit from the misery of dying
patients....Whether or not Initiative 119 passes in the November election, it
has prompted an important debate among physicians about the ethical boundaries
of their profession. There are powerful arguments on both sides, but in the
final analysis I think Initiative 119 should be defeated. [Author abstract]
Momeyer, Richard.
Does Physician Assisted Suicide Violate the Integrity of Medicine?
Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 20(1):13-24, February 1995.
- This paper evaluates the arguments against physician
assisted suicide which contend that it violates the integrity of medicine and
the physician-patient relation; i.e., that it contradicts the goal of seeking
health and healing, violates an absolute prohibition against killing, and
undermines the patient's trust in the physician. These arguments against
physician assisted suicide (1) misuse notions of teleology and teleological
explanation; (2) rely on inappropriate notions of "ideal medicine", for which
death is a defeat; (3) turn on a highly selective reading for the Hippocratic
tradition; and (4) are unacceptably paternalistic. [Author abstract]
Muller, Martien T. ; Kimsma, Gerrit K. ; and van der Wal, Gerrit.
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Facts, Figures and Fancies with Special
Regard to Old Age.
Drugs and Aging 13(3): 185-191, September 1998.
- The objective of this paper is to describe the ethics and incidence of
euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) with special regard to
old age. It is based on an assumption that if and when a practice of
euthanasia and EAS is allowed, several vulnerable groups, including the
elderly, may become a 'population at risk'. We describe some of these
claims, and make an inventory of the arguments against a permissive
policy concerning euthanasia and EAS which emphasise inherent dangers for
the elderly. We then give an overview of the results of empirical studies
about incidence of (request for) euthanasia and assisted suicide in the
Netherlands, Australia, the UK, the US, Denmark and Norway. These results
confirm that practitioners do receive requests for EAS and that EAS is
performed in all these countries. However, there are large differences
between these countries with regard to the numbers of requests and
performances. Dutch findings concerning the age distribution of patients
who received euthanasia or assisted suicide indicate that these
procedures are rare in the elderly and in nursing homes. We conclude
that, although euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal, there is
evidence that these practices occur in all countries studied. Most
surveys on the incidence of euthanasia show lower figures than those in
the Netherlands. Dutch studies do not provide any evidence for the
elderly being in danger of becoming 'victims' of euthanasia or assisted
suicide. [Author abstract]
N
New York State Task Force on Life and the Law.
When Death is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical
Context.
New York, NY: New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, May 1994.
217 p.
New York State Task Force on Life and the Law.
When Death Is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical
Context; Supplement to Report.
New York, NY: New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, April 1997. 18 p.
O
- Oregon Health Division (Ed.). (2000, June 23 - last update).
Oregon's Death with Dignity Act Homepage [Online]. Available: http://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/chs/pas/pas.htm [2000, August 31]
- This Web site provides a brief legislative history of the Death with Dignity Act, its legislative language, the forms developed to implement the Act, annual reports of reported cases, and a link to the Guidebook for Health Care Providers prepared by the Task Force to Improve the Care of Terminally-Ill Oregonians. [KIE annotation]
Orentlicher, David, and Caplan, Arthur.
The Pain Relief Promotion Act of 1999: A Serious Threat to Palliative
Care.
JAMA 283(2): 255-258, 12 January 2000.
- Recent educational efforts in the US medical community have begun to
address the critical issue of palliative care for terminally ill
patients. However, a newly introduced bill in Congress, the Pain Relief
Promotion Act of 1999 (PRPA), could dramatically hinder these efforts if
enacted. The act criminally punishes the use of controlled substances to
cause -- or assist in causing -- a patient's death. The primary purposes
of PRPA are to override the physician-assisted suicide law currently in
effect in Oregon and prohibit other states from enacting similar laws.
The act also includes valuable provisions for better research and
education in palliative care, but the benefits of those provisions are
outweighed by the punitive sections of the act. Under PRPA, the quality
of palliative care in the United States could be compromised when
physicians, fearing criminal prosecution, err on the side of caution
rather than risk their patients' deaths by using highly aggressive pain
treatments. Furthermore, PRPA would put Drug Enforcement Administration
officials, who have no medical expertise, in the position of regulating
medical decisions. The act also would interfere with individual states'
long-standing authority over medical practice. Finally, PRPA would
discourage physicians from engaging in experimentation and innovation in
palliative care, again out of concern for crossing the line between
relief of suffering and physician-assisted suicide. Other bills have been
introduced that go much further than PRPA to encourage palliative care,
without its problematic provisions. Regardless of the controversy
surrounding physician-assisted suicide in the United States, the need for
quality end-of-life care will be far better served if Congress enacts one
of these bills rather than PRPA. [Author abstract]
P
Peruzzi, Nico; Canapary, Andrew; and Bongar, Bruce.
Physician-Assisted Suicide: The Role of Mental Health Professionals.
Ethics and Behavior 6(4): 353-366, 1996.
- A review of the literature was conducted to better understand the
(potential) role of mental health professionals in
physician-assisted suicide. Numerous studies indicate that
depression is one of the most commonly encountered psychiatric
illnesses in primary care settings. Yet, depression consistently
goes undetected and undiagnosed by nonpsychiatrically trained
primary care physicians. Noting the well-studied link between
depression and suicide, it is necessary to question giving sole
responsibility of assisting patients in making end-of-life
treatment decisions to these physicians. Unfortunately, the use
of mental health consultation by these physicians is not a common
occurrence. Greater involvement of mental health professionals in
this emerging and debated area is advocated. Beyond describing
mental health professionals' role in the assessment of patient
competency or decision making capacity, other areas of potential
involvement are described. A discussion of ethical principles
relevant to this area follows, along with comments on the
training necessary to adequately serve patient needs. [Author abstract]
Post, Stephen G. Physician-Assisted Suicide in Alzheimer's
Disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
45(5): 647-651, May 1997.
- This paper takes up the question of physician-assisted suicide
(PAS) in Alzheimer's disease (AD), reviewing arguments for and
against in a broad interdisciplinary context. Preemptive PAS-AD
involving competent patients raises the further question of
AD-euthanasia. The author concludes, after thorough assessment of
the literature, that caution in moving toward AD-PAS is
necessary. However, where PAS is legalized, it may be difficult
to justify precluding people with AD from access. [Author abstracts]
Prado, C.G. and Taylor, S.J. Assisted Suicide: Theory and Practice in Elective Death. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 1999. 223 p.
- The authors' stated aim "is to contribute to the ethical guidance that is becoming so necessary regarding assisted suicide." Topics discussed include the criteria for rational suicide, the need for unimpaired choice, the importance of motivation, and the dangers of the "slippery slope." [KIE abstract]
Q
Quirk, Patrick.
Euthanasia in the Commonwealth of Australia.
Issues in Law and Medicine 13(4): 425-446, Spring 1998.
- This article describes the debate over the euthanasia law of the Northern
Territory of Australia in its constitutional context. After considering
the juridical status of the Northern Territory and related topics, this
article outlines the judicial and legislative challenges to the Rights of
the Terminally Ill Act (RTI Act) of the Northern Territory and concludes
by offering some justifications for the passing of the Euthanasia Laws
Act 1997 (Commonwealth), which effectively repeals the RTI Act. In
dealing with these issues special emphasis will be given to the problem
of Commonwealth law overriding Territory law and the concept of
fundamental common law rights. The appropriateness of a Parliamentary
solution -- as opposed to a resolution through the courts -- is defended. [Author abstract]
R
Reisner, Michelle; and Damato, Anthony N.
Attitudes of Physicians Regarding Physician-Assisted Suicide.
New Jersey Medicine 92(10): 663-666, October 1995.
- A survey of New Jersey physicians reveals no clear consensus as
to whether physician-assisted suicide should be legalized, and
most physicians stated that they would not participate in such
activities where it is legal to do so. Further studies need to be
undertaken. [Author abstract]
Roberts, Laura Weiss; Roberts, Brian B.; Warner, Teddy D.;
Solomon, Zachary; Hardee, James T.; and McCarty, Teresita.
Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, and Emergency Medicine Residents'
Views of Assisted Death Practices.
Archives of Internal Medicine 157(14):
1603-1609, 27 July 1997.
- BACKGROUND: Although studies have revealed conflicting attitudes
within the medical community regarding assisted death practices
in the United States, the views of current resident physicians
have not been described. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the
perspectives of residents from 3 medical specialty fields
regarding the acceptability of assisted suicide and euthanasia
practices as performed by 4 possible agents (the resident
personally, a referral physician, physicians in general, or
nonphysicians in general) in 6 patient scenarios. METHODS: An
anonymous survey exploring responses to 6 patient vignettes was
conducted with a convenience sample of all residents in the
internal medicine, psychiatry, and emergency medicine training
programs. RESULTS: A total of 96 residents, 72% of those asked,
participated in this study. Overall, residents expressed
opposition or uncertainty regarding assisted suicide and
euthanasia. The residents were disinclined to directly perform
such practices themselves and did not support the conduct of
assisted suicide practices by nonphysicians. Respondents were
somewhat more accepting of other physicians' involvement in
assisted death activities. Conflicting views were expressed by
residents, with emergency medicine residents more likely to
support assisted suicide practices in 4 of 6 patient vignettes
than either internal medicine or psychiatry residents. Residents
who reported being influenced by religious beliefs (21
respondents [22%]) did not support assisted death practices,
whereas those influenced by personal philosophy (74 respondents
[77%]) expressed less opposition. CONCLUSIONS: This study
explores the uncertainty and differing views of residents from 3
fields about physician-assisted suicide practices. Study findings
are considered within the larger literature on clinician
attitudes toward assisted suicide and euthanasia. [Author abstract]
Rosenfeld, Barry ; Breitbart, William ; Stein, Kelly ; Funesti-Esch,
Julie ; Kaim, Monique ; Krivo, Suzanne ; and Galietta, Michele.
Measuring Desire for Death Among Patients with HIV/AIDS: The Schedule of
Attitudes Toward Hastened Death.
American Journal of Psychiatry 156(1): 94-100, January 1999.
- As physician-assisted suicide is debated, a need for
standardized measurement of desire for death among medically ill
individuals has emerged. The authors present preliminary validation data
for a new self-report instrument, the Schedule of Attitudes Toward
Hastened Death. METHOD: The participants were 195 patients with HIV/AIDS
from two sites: 148 ambulatory patients and 47 patients who had been
recently admitted to a facility for end-of-life care. The ambulatory
participants completed the 20-item Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened
Death and several other instruments, including the Beck Depression
Inventory and Brief Symptom Inventory. The terminally ill patients also
completed the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death, along with
other measures, and were assessed by clinicians with the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale and the Desire for Death Rating Scale, a global
clinician rating of the patient's desire for death. RESULTS: The Schedule
of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death demonstrated high reliability. The
total score significantly correlated with the clinician rating on the
Desire for Death Rating Scale and with ratings of depression and
psychological distress. In addition, the Schedule of Attitudes Toward
Hastened Death score significantly correlated with pain intensity and
physical symptom distress. Factor analysis supported a single factor
structure for the instrument. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that
the Schedule of Attitudes Toward Hastened Death is a reliable, valid
measure of desire for death among patients with HIV/AIDS. Further
research with this measure may help address many of the unanswered
questions emerging from the ongoing debates regarding legalization of
assisted suicide. [Author abstract]
S
Savulescu, Julian. The Trouble with Do-Gooders: The Example of
Suicide. Journal of Medical Ethics 23(2): 108-115, April 1997.
- This paper describes the concept of a do-gooder: a person who
does unwanted good. It illustrates why doing-good is a problem
and argues that patients should not be compelled to do what is
best. It shows the ways in which doctors covertly do-good and
offers a critique of these. The discussion focuses on the example
of the treatment of patients who attempt suicide. [Author abstract]
Schneider, Carl E.
Making Sausage: The Ninth Circuit's Opinion.
Hastings Center Report 27(1): 27-28, January-February 1997.
- As I write, the Supreme Court has just agreed to hear
and
, the two cases in
which United States circuit courts of appeals held that a state
may not constitutionally prohibit physicians from helping a
terminally ill person who wishes to commit suicide to do so.
These cases have already received lavish comment and criticism,
and no doubt the Supreme Court's opinion will garner even more.
Reasonably enough, most of this analysis addresses the merits of
physician-assisted suicide as social policy. I, here, want to
talk about how setting bioethical policy through constitutional
adjudication actually works and how its usefulness is diminished
by some practical deficiencies. [Author abstract]
Schoevers, Robert A. ; Asmus, Frank P. ; and Van Tilburg, Willem.
Physician-Assisted Suicide in Psychiatry: Developments in the
Netherlands.
Psychiatric Services 49(11): 1475-1480, November 1998.
- Physician-assisted suicide can now be officially and legally carried out
for psychiatric patients in The Netherlands who request it, provided that
criteria are met. The authors describe two recent cases of psychiatric
patients whose suicides were assisted by their psychiatrist. They
critically examine the guidelines for physician-assisted suicide in
psychiatry. The criteria address the decision of the patient to be
assisted with suicide, which must be voluntary and well considered, and
the patient's desire to die, which must endure over time. The patient's
suffering must be unacceptable, and the disorder incurable. The authors
conclude that important aspects of psychiatric practice are not addressed
in the guidelines, which were originally developed for use in somatic
medicine. The assessment of treatment prognosis in psychiatry is not
accurate enough to allow a final decision about incurability. Boundaries
of the psychiatric therapeutic relationship are violated in
physician-assisted suicide. The therapist's inability to objectively
assess the patient's wish to die is overlooked. Because the general
public will continue to ask for clarity on the issue of euthanasia and
physician-assisted suicide, the authors believe that an open discussion
of both ethical and professional issues is the best option. [Author abstract]
Slome, Lee R.; Mitchell, Thomas F.; Charlebois, Edwin;
Benevedes, Jeffrey Moulton; and Abrams, Donald I.
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Patients with Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Disease.
New England Journal of Medicine 336(6): 417-421, 6 February 1997.
- Data are limited on the attitudes and practices of
physicians regarding assisting the suicide of patients with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. METHODS: Between November
1994 and January 1995, we used an anonymous, self-administered
questionnaire to survey all 228 physicians in the Community
Consortium, an association of providers of health care to
patients infected with HIV in the San Francisco Bay area. The
responses were compared with those in a 1990 survey of consortium
physicians. Physician-assisted suicide was defined as a
physician providing a sufficient dose of narcotics to enable a
patient to kill himself. Respondents were to assume that the
patient is a mentally competent, severely ill individual facing
imminent death. RESULTS: One hundred eighteen of the
questionnaires were evaluated. Respondents reported a mean of 7.9
direct and 13.7 indirect requests from patients for
assistance. In responses based on a case vignette, 48 percent of
the physicians said they would be likely or very likely to grant
the request of a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS) for assistance in a suicide, as compared with 28
percent of the respondents in 1990. Asked to estimate the number
of times they had granted the request of a patient with AIDS for
assistance in committing suicide, 53 percent said they had done
so at least once (mean number of times, 4.2; median, 1.0; range,
0 to 100). In a multivariate analysis, factors positively
associated with having, in fact, assisted a suicide were having
had a higher number of patients with AIDS who had died, a higher
number of indirect requests from patients for assistance, a
stated gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation on the part of the
physician, and a higher intention to assist score (as
calculated from the physician's responses to the case vignette).
CONCLUSIONS: Within a group of physicians caring for patients
with HIV disease, the acceptance of assisted suicide increased
between 1990 and 1995. A majority of respondents in 1995 said
they had granted a request for assisted suicide from a patient
with AIDS at least once. [Author abstract]
Stone, Geo. Suicide and Assisted Suicide: Methods and Consequences. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 1999. 480 p.
- This compendium of suicide data provides statistics for and descriptions of the various means for killing oneself. [KIE annotation].
Sullivan, Amy D. ; Hedberg, Katrina ; and Fleming, David W.
Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon -- The Second Year.
New England Journal of Medicine 342(8): 598-604, 24 February 2000.
- In 1997, Oregon legalized physician-assisted
suicide. We have previously reported data on terminally ill Oregon
residents who received prescriptions for lethal medications under the
Oregon Death with Dignity Act and who died in 1998. We now report similar
data for 1999, obtained from physicians' reports, death certificates, and
interviews with physicians. We also report data from interviews with
family members. RESULTS: Information on 33 persons who received
prescriptions for lethal medications in 1999 was reported to the Oregon
Health Division; 26 died after taking the lethal medications, 5 died from
their underlying illnesses, and 2 were alive as of January 1, 2000. One
additional patient, who received a prescription in 1998, died after
taking the medication in 1999. Thus, 27 patients died after ingesting
lethal medications in 1999 (9 per 10,000 deaths in Oregon), as compared
with 16 patients in 1998 (6 per 10,000). The median age of the 27
patients who died in 1999 after taking lethal medications was 71 years.
The most frequent underlying illnesses were cancer (in 17 patients),
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (in 4), and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (in 4). All 27 patients had health insurance, 21 were receiving
hospice care, and 13 were college graduates. According to both physicians
and family members, patients requested assistance with suicide for
several reasons, including loss of autonomy, loss of control of bodily
functions, an inability to participate in activities that make life
enjoyable, and a determination to control the manner of death.
CONCLUSIONS: In the second as compared with the first year of legalized
physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, the number of patients who died
after ingesting lethal medications increased, but it remained small in
relation to the total number of persons in Oregon who died. Patients who
request assistance with suicide appear to be motivated by several
factors, including loss of autonomy and a determination to control the
way in which they die. [Author abstract]
T
Thomasma, David C.
Assessing the Arguments for and against Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide:
Part Two
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 1998 7(4): 388- 401, Fall 1998.
- After suggesting that the expression "assisted death" might be used to discuss taking a life without producing the immediate polarization that the words "euthanasia" and "assisted suicide" provoke, the author analyzes the terms of the moral debate regarding assisted suicide - intention, mercy, compassion, self-interest, pragmatism/advance planning, foresight, and sacrifice - and recalls their historical significance. Thomasma concludes that "[i]f quality of life judgments and social utility judgments are constantly held in check by both a public philosophy of examining intentionality and our cultural and historical memory of the Holocaust, then we will be well on the way toward providing a humane solution to the problem of suffering at the end of life." [KIE annotation]
U
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Quill v. Vacco. [Date of Decision: 2 April 1996] Federal Reporter,
3d Series. 1996; 80: 716-743.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, held that physicians
may prescribe drugs to be self-administered by mentally competent patients who
seek to end their lives during the final stages of a terminal illness. The
action was brought by physicians and patients seeking to declare
unconstitutional a New York statute penalizing assistance in suicide. The court
rejected the plaintiffs' argument that there is a fundamental right to assisted
suicide under the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, the
court found that the state statute violated the equal protection clause because
it did not treat equally all competent persons in the final stages of fatal
illness wishing to hasten their death. Treatment was not equal in that a
competent person may order removal of life-support systems, while those persons
whose treatment does not include life support cannot hasten their death. The
court found this unequal treatment lacked any rational basis. (KIE abstract)
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, en banc.
Compassion in Dying v. State of Washington. [Dated Filed: 1996 March 9]
3109-3263 (3 v.).
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc,
affirmed a district court judgment that ruled unconstitutional a Washington
statute banning assisted suicide, as applied to competent, terminally ill adults
who wish to obtain prescription medication to hasten their deaths. The statute,
which was challenged by a group of patients, physicians, and the nonprofit
organization Compassion in Dying, was held to be unconstitutional because it
violated the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court took into
consideration the interests of the state in protecting life, preventing
suicides, preventing undue, arbitrary, or unfair influences on an individual's
decision to end his life, and ensuring the integrity of the medical profession.
These interests were balanced against an individual's strong liberty interest in
determining how and when one's life should end. The court recognized this
interest after assessing the growing public support for assisted suicide,
changes in the causes of death and medical advances, and Supreme Court cases
addressing due process liberty interests. The court then determined that the
state's interest, which could be protected by adopting sufficient safeguards,
did not outweigh the severe burden placed on the terminally ill, and thus the
statute as applied was unconstitutional. (KIE abstract).
U.S. District Court, S.D. New York [Date of Decision: 15 December 1994].
Quill v. Koppell. Federal Supplement. 1994; 870: 78-85.
- The U.S. District Court, S.D. New York upheld the
constitutionality of a statute criminalizing physician-assisted suicide. The
claimants argued that the statute violated the due process and equal protection
clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment for both the patients and the physicians.
They claimed that competent, terminally-ill persons have a constitutional right
to take their own lives, and that enabling physicians have a corresponding
protection under the constitution. However, while the court recognized
constitutional protections for many personal decisions as central to the liberty
protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, it determined that precedent failed to
establish such right under the constitution. The court validated state authority
to distinguish between "allowing nature to take its course" and the intentional
use "of an artificial death-producing device" by reasoning that suicide evokes a
different legal significance than refusing medical treatment. (KIE abstract)
U.S. District Court, D. Oregon.
Lee v. State of Oregon. [Date of Decision: 27 December 1994] Federal
Supplement. 1994; 869: 1491-1503.
- The U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, granted the
plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction to Measure 16, a ballot measure
passed by Oregon voters that authorizes physician-assisted suicide for the
terminally ill. The plaintiffs were physicians, terminally ill patients, and
residential care facilities, and they sued the state, challenging the
constitutionality of Measure 16. The court held that (1) the plaintiffs had
standing; (2) serious questions were presented as to whether the measure
violated the plaintiffs' freedom of association, freedom of religion, due
process, and equal protection rights; and (3) the balance of hardships favored
the plaintiffs. The public interest in protecting vulnerable citizens from
irreparable harm of death was held to be greater than the hardship to terminally
ill patients who want physician-assisted suicide to be immediately available.
(KIE abstract)
U.S. Supreme Court. State of Washington v. Glucksberg [Date of
Decision: 26 June 1997] Supreme Court Reporter. 1997 Jun
26 (date of decision). 117: 2258-2293. Bench Opinion, No. 96-110 (Full
Text)
- The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban against assisted
suicide as applied to competent, terminally ill adults who wish
to hasten their deaths by obtaining medication prescribed by
their doctors. The Court refused to expand the liberty interest
under the Due Process Clause of the U.S. constitution to include
a right to commit suicide under it, a right to assisted suicide.
The state has prevailing interests in the preservation of human
life, the prevention of suicide, the integrity of the medical
profession, the protection of vulnerable groups, and avoidance of
a slippery slope into euthanasia. (KIE abstract)
U.S. Supreme Court. Vacco v. Quill [Date of Decision: 26 June
1997] Supreme Court Reporter. 1997 Jun 26 (date of
decision). 117: 2293-2312. Bench Opinion, No. 95-1858
(Full Text)
- The U.S. Supreme Court held that the terminally ill do not have a
right to physician-assisted suicide under the Equal Protection
Clause of the U.S. constitution. A New York prohibition on
assisted suicide did not on its face treat the terminally ill who
could hasten death by ending life support differently from those
terminally ill who were not on life support. The Court reasoned
that all competent persons are entitled to refuse life-sustaining
treatment and no one is permitted to assist a suicide. The Court
also noted as important the distinction between assisted suicide
and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, a distinction
recognized by both the medical and legal professions. (KIE
abstract)
V
van der Wal, Gerrit; van der Maas, Paul J.; Bosma, Jacqueline M.;
Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.; Willems, Dick L.; Haverkate, Ilinka; and Kostense,
Piet J. Evaluation of the Notification Procedure for Physician-Assisted Death
in the Netherlands. New England Journal of Medicine 335(22): 1706-1711, 28 November 1996.
- BACKGROUND: In the Netherlands, a notification procedure for
physician-assisted death has been in use since 1991. It requires doctors to
report each case to the coroner, who in turn notifies the public prosecutor.
Ultimately, the Assembly of Prosecutors General decides whether to prosecute.
Although physician-assisted death remains technically illegal, doctors are
extremely unlikely to be prosecuted if they comply with the requirements for
accepted practice. In 1995, the ministers of health and justice commissioned an
evaluation to determine the adequacy of the notification procedure. METHODS: A
random sample of 405 physicians were interviewed. We also interviewed 147
physicians who had reported cases of physician-assisted death and 116 coroners,
and we reviewed 353 judicial files of reported cases. In addition, we
interviewed 48 public prosecutors and reviewed the minutes of the Assembly of
Prosecutors General for 1991 to 1995 and all published court decisions from 1981
through 1995. RESULTS: In 1995, about 41 percent of all cases of euthanasia and
physician-assisted suicide were reported. There were no major differences
between reported and unreported cases in terms of the patients' characteristics,
clinical conditions, or reasons for the action. Most patients had cancer and
were described as suffering "unbearably" and 'hopelessly." Of the 6324 cases
reported during the period from 1991 through 1995, only 13 involved prosecution
of the physician. The majority of respondents in the groups interviewed thought
that all cases of physician-assisted death should be reviewed, although most
doctors thought the review should be performed by other doctors, and there was
substantial concern about the burden associated with the reporting procedure.
CONCLUSIONS: Substantial progress in the oversight of physician-assisted death
has been achieved in the Netherlands. The reporting procedure could be more
streamlined and less threatening. [Author abstract]
W
Weir, Robert F.
The Morality of Physician-Assisted Suicide. Law, Medicine and Health
Care 20(1-2): 116-126, Spring-Summer 1992.
- The time has
come for a serious discussion of the morality and legality of physician-assisted
suicide. I hope to contribute to that discussion by first analyzing the concept
of assisted suicide and describing the diversity of possible legal responses to
acts of PAS. I will then provide an ethical analysis of PAS by discussing the
cases of Janet Adkins and "Diane," sorting out the competing ethical arguments
about this issue, and making some recommendations for professional practice and
public policy. [Author abstract]
Welie, Jos V.M.
The Medical Exception: Physicians, Euthanasia and the Dutch Criminal Law.
Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 17(4): 419-437, August 1992.
- The legalization of euthanasia, both in the Netherlands and in
other countries, is usually justified in reference to the right to autonomy of
patients. Utilizing recent Dutch jurisprudence, this article intends to show
that the judicial proceedings on euthanasia in the Netherlands have not so much
enhanced the autonomy of patients, as the autonomy of the medical
profession. [Author abstract]
Willems, Dick L. ; Daniels, Elisabeth R. ; van der Wal, Gerrit ; van der
Maas, Paul J. ; and Emanuel, Ezekiel J.
Attitudes and Practices Concerning the End of Life: a Comparison Between
Physicians from the United States and from the Netherlands.
Archives of Internal Medicine 160(1): 63-68, 10 January 2000.
- This study compares attitudes and practices concerning the
end-of-life decisions between physicians in the United States and in the
Netherlands, using the same set of questions. METHODS: A total of 152
physicians from Oregon and 67 from the Netherlands were interviewed using
the same questions about (1) their attitudes toward increasing morphine
with premature death as a likely consequence, physician-assisted suicide
(PAS), and euthanasia; and (2) their involvement in cases of euthanasia,
PAS, or the ending of life without an explicit request from the patient.
Odds ratios, with 95% confidence intervals, were calculated to
investigate relation between attitudes and various characteristics of the
respondents. RESULTS: American physicians found euthanasia less often
acceptable than the Dutch, but there was similarity in attitudes
concerning increasing morphine and PAS. American physicians found
increasing morphine and PAS more often acceptable in cases where patients
were concerned about becoming a burden to their family. There was a
discrepancy between the attitudes and practices of Dutch physicians
concerning PAS. The proportions of physicians having practiced
euthanasia, PAS, or ending of life without an explicit request from the
patient differ more between the countries than do their attitudes, with
American physicians having been involved in these practices less often
than the Dutch. CONCLUSIONS: In this study of American and Dutch
physicians, 2 important differences emerge: different attitudes toward
the patient who is concerned over being a burden, and different frequency
of euthanasia and PAS in the two countries. [Author abstract]
Wilson, Janet K. ; Fox, Elaine ; and Kamakahi, Jeff J.
Who is Fighting for the Right to Die? Older wWmen's Participation in the
Hemlock Society.
Health Care for Women International 19(5): 365-380, September-October 1998.
- Who is fighting for the right to die? Past literature has been mixed as
to the membership of this social movement. In the current study, 6,398
Hemlock Society members were surveyed in an effort to answer questions
concerning who is participating in the right to die movement, whether
these participants are rapidly approaching their own death or reacting to
the death of a loved one, and whether the movement is invigorated by
singular activists. The findings indicate that older, white, wealthy,
highly educated, economically and politically active women are in the
forefront of the right to die movement. These women report currently
being mentally and physically healthy, yet already having taken the steps
that will allow them to have an element of control over their death.
Finally, right to die support seems to be part of a larger collective
network concerning health care and political policy issues. [Author abstract]
Z
Zucker, Arthur. Law and Ethics: Experimentation; Assisted
Suicide. Death Studies 21(2): 221-225, March-April 1997.
- Noting that the "right to die" conceptually is not an issue because we all die, the author holds that "[w]hat is at stake in assisted suicide is the right of a physician to act in a manner consistent with patient wishes - if that physician would choose to do so." [KIE annotation]
Additional References:
Anderson, Carl A.
Waiting for Hippocrates: the "right to die" and the U.S. Constitution.
Linacre Quarterly. 1996 August; 63(3): 60-72.
Annas, George J.
The bell tolls for a constitutional right to physician-assisted
suicide.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Oct 9; 337(15):
1098-1103.
Annas, George J.
Death by prescription: the Oregon initiative. New England Journal of
Medicine. 1994 November 3; 331(18): 1240-1243.
Annas, George J.
The promised end -- constitutional aspects of physician-assisted suicide.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1996 August 29; 335(9): 683-687.
Astrow, Alan B.
Thoughts on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
In: Spiro, Howard M.; Curnen, Mary G. McCrea; Wandel, Lee
Palmer, eds. Facing Death: Where Culture, Religion, and
Medicine Meet. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press; 1996: 44-51.
Avila, Daniel.
Rodriguez v. Attorney General of Canada. [Note]. Issues in Law and
Medicine. 1994 Spring; 9(4): 389-393.
Bartholome, William G.
Physician-assisted suicide, hospice, and rituals of withdrawal.
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3):
233-236.
Batavia, Andrew I.
Disability and physician-assisted suicide.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Jun 5; 336(23):
1671-1673.
dt> Battin, Margaret Pabst.
Physician-assisted suicide. In: [her] Ethical Issues in Suicide.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995: 198-227.
Battin, Margaret Pabst.
The Least Worst Death: Essays in Bioethics on the End of Life. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1994. 305 p.
Beauchamp, Tom L.
Suicide. In: Regan, Tom, ed. Matters of Life and Death: New
Introductory Essays in Moral Philosophy. Third Edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill; 1993: 69-120. (
Beauchamp, Tom L.
Refusals of treatment and requests for death.
Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal. 1996 Dec; 6(4):
371-374.
Bender, Leslie.
A feminist analysis of physician-assisted dying and voluntary active
euthanasia. Tennessee Law Review. 1992 Spring; 59(3): 519-546.
Bernat, James L.; Gert, Bernard; Mogielnicki, R. Peter.
Patient refusal of hydration and nutrition: an alternative to
physician-assisted suicide or voluntary active euthanasia. Archives of
Internal Medicine. 1993 December 27; 153(24): 2723-2728.
Bjorck, Catherine L.
Physician-assisted suicide: whose life is it anyway? SMU Law
Review. 1994 January/February; 47(2): 371-397.
Blake, David C.
Reconsidering the distinction of ordinary and extraordinary
treatment: should we go back to the future?
HEC (HealthCare Ethics Committee) Forum. 1996 Dec; 8(6):
355-371.
Boyd, K.
Moral and religious dilemmas.
In: Tinker, Jack; Browne, Doreen R.G.; Sibbald, William J.,
eds. Critical Care: Standards, Audit and Ethics.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1996: 391-399.
Branigan, Janet M.
Michigan's struggle with assisted suicide and related issues as illuminated
by current case law: an overview of
. [Note].
University of Detroit Mercy Law Review. 1995 Summer; 72(4): 959-987.
Brock, Dan W.
Physician-assisted suicide is sometimes morally justified.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 86-103.
Brodeur, Dennis.
Physician-assisted suicide: appellate court rulings. Issues: A
Critical Examination of Contemporary Ethical Issues in Health Care. 1996
March-April; 11(2): 1-8.
Brodie, H. Keith H.; Banner, Leslie.
Normatology: a review and commentary with reference to abortion
and physician-assisted suicide.
American Journal of Psychiatry. 1997 Jun; 154(6, Suppl.):
13-19.
Brody, Howard.
Commentary on Billings and Block's Slow euthanasia.
Journal of Palliative Care. 1996 Winter; 12(4): 38-41.
Brody, Howard.
Assisting in patient suicide
an acceptable practice for
physicians.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 136-151.
Brody, Howard.
Compassion in Dying v. Washington: promoting dangerous myths in terminal
care. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health
Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD:
University Publications of America; 1996 July-August: S:154-S:159.
Brown, Lowell C.; Paine, Shirley J.
Physician-assisted suicide: pros and cons of first federal case.
HealthSpan. 1994 July-August; 11(7): 3-11.
Burke, William J.; Seaton, Scott M.; Earnest, Frank C.;
Golumb, Mayana; McHugh, Paul R.; King, Steven A.; Wood,
Francis; Hug, George; Potter, H. Phelps; Tilson, M. David;
Angell, Marcia.
Physician-assisted suicide -- the ultimate right? [Letters and
response].
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 May 22; 336(21):
1524-1526.
Burt, Robert A.
The Supreme Court speaks -- not assisted suicide but a
constitutional right to palliative care.
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Oct 23; 337(17):
1234-1236.
Butler, Robert N.
The dangers of physician-assisted suicide: will we choose to
provide a right to euthanasia for the few or palliative care for
the many? [Editorial].
Geriatrics. 1996 Jul; 51(7): 14-15.
Byock, Ira R.
Physician-assisted suicide is
an acceptable practice for
physicians.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 107-135.
Callahan, Daniel.
Self-extinction: the morality of the helping hand.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 69-85.
Callahan, Daniel.
Assisted suicide is a power too far. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical
Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections,
2(7-8). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1996 July-August:
S:125-S:126.
Callahan, Daniel.
"Aid-in-dying": the social dimensions. Commonweal. 1991 August 9;
118(14, Suppl.): 476-480.
Callahan, Daniel.
run amok: a response to John Lachs. Journal of Clinical
Ethics. 1994 Spring; 5(1): 13-15.
Campbell, Courtney S.
Pharmacy: the forgotten profession in the assisted suicide
debate. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on
Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(3).
Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1997 Mar: S:33-S:42.
Campbell, Courtney S.
When medicine lost its moral conscience: Oregon Measure 16. In:
Biolaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and
Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(1). Frederick, MD: University
Publications of America; 1995 January: S:1-S:16.
Campbell, Courtney.
Sanitizing suicide in the culture of death: "So, go back, Jack, do it
again." In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health
Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD:
University Publications of America; 1996 July-August: S:121-S:125.
Campbell, Courtney; Fletcher, John; Gomez, Carlos; Bonnie, Richard.
Legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon: analysis and
assessment. [Panel discussion]. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical
Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections,
2(6). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1995 June:
S:49-S:63.
Campbell, Courtney; Hare, Jan; Nelson, Carrie; Donovan, G. Kevin;
D'Olimpio,
James T.; MacDonald, Richard; Alpers, Ann; Lo, Bernard.
Physician-assisted suicide. [Letters and response]. JAMA. 1995
December 27; 274(24): 1910-1912.
Canick, Simon M.
Constitutional aspects of physician-assisted suicide after
. [Note].
American Journal of Law and Medicine. 1997; 23(1): 69-96.
Caplan, Arthur L.
Will assisted suicide kill hospice?
In: Jennings, Bruce, ed. Ethics in Hospice Care:
Challenges to Hospice Values in a Changing Health Care
Environment. New York, NY: Haworth Press; 1997: 17-24.
Cassel, Christine K.
Physician-assisted suicide: are we asking the right questions? Second
Opinion. 1992 October; 18(2): 95-98.
Cassel, Christine K. Physician assistance at the end of life:
rethinking the bright line. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R.,
eds. Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 120-138.
Chevlen, Eric M.
Mock medicine, mock law. First Things. 1996 June/July; 64:
16-18.
Childs, James M.
Anna, ambiguity, and the promise: a Lutheran theologian reflects
on assisted death.
In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds. Must We
Suffer Our
Way to Death? Cultural and Theological Perspectives on Death by
Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press;
1996:
198-225.
Chochinov, Harvey Max; Wilson, Keith G.; Breitbart, William;
Rosenfeld, Barry D.; Passik, Steven D.
Assisted suicide for HIV patients. [Letter and response].
American Journal of Psychiatry. 1997 Feb; 154(2): 294-295.
Chopko, Mark E.; Moses, Michael F.
Assisted suicide: still a wonderful life?
Notre Dame Law Review. 1995; 70(3): 519-580.
Christakis, Nicholas A.
Managing death: the growing acceptance of euthanasia in
contemporary American society.
In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds. Must We
Suffer Our
Way to Death? Cultural and Theological Perspectives on Death by
Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press;
1996:
15-44.
Clark, Nina; Liebig, Phoebe S.
The politics of physician-assisted death: California's
Proposition 161 and attitudes of the elderly.
Politics and the Life Sciences. 1996 Sep; 15(2): 273-280.
Cohen, Cynthia B.
Christian perspectives on assisted suicide and euthanasia: the
Anglican tradition.
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Winter; 24(4):
369-379.
Coleman, Carl H.; Fleischman, Alan R.
Guidelines for physician-assisted suicide: can the challenge be
met?
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3):
217-224.
Cordner, Stephen; Ettershank, Kathy
Review for Australia's euthanasia laws. [News].
Lancet. 1997 Jan 11; 349(9045): 112.
Cotton, Paul
Medicine's position is both pivotal and precarious in assisted-suicide
debate. JAMA. 1995 February 1; 273(5): 363-364.
Dangelantonio, Anthony J.
Physician-assisted suicide: the legal and practical contours. Risk:
Issues in Health and Safety. 1993 Winter; 4(1): 55-66.
Davis, Dena
It's my canvas. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on
Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(7-8).
Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1996 July-August:
S:120-S:121.
DeBuono, Barbara A.
The rights of the terminally ill and physician-assisted suicide.
Rhode Island Medicine. 1992 Mar; 75(3): 123-126.
DeSimone, Cathleen
Death on Demand: Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States: A Legal
Pathfinder. [Bibliography]. Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein; 1996. 57 p.
(KF241.T67D47 1996)
Dillmann, Robert J.M.; Legemaate, Johan
Euthanasia in the Netherlands: the state of the legal debate.
European Journal of Health Law. 1994; 1: 81-87.
d'Oronzio, Joseph C.
Rappelling on the slippery slope: negotiating public policy for
physician-assisted death.
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 1997 Winter; 6(1):
113-117.
Dorff, Elliot N.
Assisted suicide: a Jewish perspective.
Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. 1996 Sep 20;
27(517):
6-7.
Dorff, Elliot N.
Assisted death: a Jewish perspective.
In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds. Must We
Suffer Our
Way to Death? Cultural and Theological Perspectives on Death by
Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press;
1996:
141-173.
Dr. Kevorkian's side scores. [Editorial]. America. 1996
April
27; 174(14): 3.
Drane, James F.
Physician assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia: social
ethics and the role of hospice. American Journal of Hospice and
Palliative Care. 1995 Nov-Dec; 12(6): 3-10.
Drinan, Robert F.
The Constitution and the right to die. America. 1996 April 20;
174(13): 6-7.
Dyck, Arthur J.
Physician-assisted suicide: is it ethical? Trends in Health Care, Law
and Ethics. 1992 Winter; 7(2): 19-22.
Dyck, Arthur J.
North American law and public policy. In: Kilner, John F.; Miller,
Arlene B.; Pellegrino, Edmund D., eds. Dignity and Dying: A Christian
Appraisal. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans; 1996: 154-164.
Fins, Joseph J.; Bacchetta, Matthew D.
Framing the physician-assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia
debate: the role of deontology, consequentialism, and clinical pragmatism.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1995 May; 43(5): 563-568.
Frank, Arthur W. The language of principle and the language of
experience in the euthanasia debate. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose,
Edwin R., eds. Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and
Theological Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern
Methodist University Press; 1996: 81-102.
Freundel, Barry
Understanding the moral vacuum.
Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. 1996 Sep 20;
27(517): 4-6.
Gagliano, Ronald A.; Cohen, Irwin P.
The ethics of physician-assisted suicide.
Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society. 1995 Sep;
147(9): 387-389.
Ganzini, Linda; Lee, Melinda A.
Psychiatry and assisted suicide in the United States.
[Editorial].
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Jun 19; 336(25):
1824-1826.
Glick, Shimon; Miller, Franklin; Brody, Howard
The bias of burden. [Letter and response].
Hastings Center Report. 1996 Jul-Aug; 26(4): 2.
Goldblatt, Ann Dudley
Knocking on heaven's door: medical jurisprudence and aid in
dying.
In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds. Must We
Suffer Our
Way to Death? Cultural and Theological Perspectives on Death by
Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press;
1996:
66-80.
Gomez, Carlos F.
Reguating Death: Euthanasia and the Case of the Netherlands. New
York:
Free Press; 1991. 172 p.
Goodwin, Peter
Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law: an alternative positive
viewpoint. [Commentary].
Archives of Internal Medicine. 1997 Aug 11-25; 157(15):
1642-1644.
Goodwin, Peter
The Oregon Death with Dignity Act. American Family Physician. 1995
August; 52(2): 398-400.
Graham, Kathy T.
Last rights: Oregon's new Death with Dignity Act.
Willamette Law Review. 1995 Summer; 31(3): 601-646.
Griffiths, John
The regulation of euthanasia and related medical procedures that shorten life
in the Netherlands. Medical Law International. 1994; 1(2):
137-158.
Guroian, Vigen
Life's Living toward Dying: A Theological and Medical-Ethical
Study.
Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans; 1996. 108 p.
Hagen, John D.
Sentimentality in dying. America. 1996 July 20; 175(2): 4-6.
Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds.
Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice.
Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press; 1996. 355 p.
Havard, J.D.J.
Aiding and abetting suicides, the right to die and euthanasia. In:
Brahams, Diana, ed. Medicine and the Law London: Royal College of
Physicians of London; 1990: 33-41.
Heimburger, Douglas C.
Physician-assisted death should remain illegal: a debate.
Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine. 1994 Summer; 8(3):
41-48.
Hendin, Herbert; Glick, Shimon M.; Miller, Franklin G.;
Simcic, Kenneth J.; van der Maas, Paul J.; van der Wal, Gerrit
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands.
[Letters and response].
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 May 8; 336(19):
1385-1387.
Hendin, Herbert
Seduced by death: doctors, patients, and the Dutch cure. Issues in Law
and Medicine. 1994 Fall; 10(2): 123-168.
Hentoff, Nat
Disabled, not dead.
Responsive Community. 1996 Fall; 6(4): 4-6.
Hoehne, Jennifer L.
Physician responsibility and the right to "death care": the call for
physician-assisted suicide. [Note]. Drake Law Review. 1993; 42(1):
225-253.
Humber, James M.; Almeder, Robert F.; Kasting, Gregg A., eds.
Biomedical Ethics Reviews, 1993: Physician-Assisted Death. Totowa,
NJ: Humana Press; 1994. 155 p. (R726.P493 1994)
Hunter, Ian A.
Invulnerable nothings: Sue Rodriguez and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In: Gentles, Ian, ed. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: The Current
Debate. Toronto, ON: Stoddart; 1995: 29-36, 119-120.
Jecker, Nancy S.
Physician-assisted death in the Netherlands and the United States: ethical
and cultural aspects of health policy development. Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society. 1994 June; 42(6): 672-678.
Jezewski, Susan K.
Can a suicide machine trigger the murder statute? [Note]. Wayne Law
Review. 1991 Summer; 37(4): 1921-1950.
Joas, Ute Angelique
Physician-assisted lethal injection vs. the plastic bag: will euthanasia
legislation ever come? A comparison of standards in the Netherlands and the
United States. [Comment]. Temple International and Comparative Law
Journal. 1992 Fall; 6(2): 365-401.
Jung, Patricia Beattie. Dying well isn't easy: thoughts of a
Roman Catholic theologian on assisted death. In: Hamel, Ronald P.;
DuBose, Edwin R., eds. Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and
Theological Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern
Methodist University Press; 1996: 174-197.
Kamisar, Yale
In defense of the distinction between terminating life support and actively
intervening to promote or to bring about death. In: BioLaw: A Legal and
Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special
Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1996
July-August: S:145-S:149.
Kamisar, Yale
Physician-assisted suicide: the last bridge to active voluntary
euthanasia. In: Keown, John, ed. Euthanasia Examined: Ethical, Clinical
and Legal Perspectives. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press; 1995:
225-260.
Kavanaugh, Arthur; Wilson, Keith G.; Chochinov, Harvey Max; Toffler,
William
L.; Edwards, Miles J.; Hamilton, N. Gregory; Edwards, Pamela J.; Robinson,
Stephen T.; Bachman, Jerald G.; Alcser, Kirsten H.; Doukas, David J.;
Lichtenstein, Richard L.; Lee, Melinda A.; Nelson, Heidi D.; Tilden, Virginia P.
Physician-assisted suicide. [Letters and response]. New England
Journal of Medicine. 1996 August 15; 335(7): 518-520.
Kerkhof, J.F.M.
Assisted suicide among psychiatric patients in the Netherlands.
[Editorial]. Crisis. 1994; 15(2): 50-52.
Kirschner, Kristi L.; Gill, Carol J.; Cassel, Christine K.
Physician-assisted suicide in the context of disability.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 155-166.
Kjervik, Diane K.
Assisted suicide: the challenge to the nursing profession.
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3):
237-242.
Klagsbrun, Samuel C.
Physician-assisted suicide. Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish
Responsibility. 1996 Sep 20; 27(517): 1-3.
Kliever, Lonnie D. Claiming a death of our own: perspectives from
the Wesleyan tradition. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds.
Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 266-302.
Koenig, Harold G.
Legalizing physician-assisted suicide: some thoughts and concerns.
Journal of Family Practice. 1993 August; 37(2): 171-179.
Kung, Hans; Jens, Walter
A dignified dying: a plea for personal responsiblity.
London: SCM Press; 1995. 132 p.
LaBouff, John Paul. He wants to do what? Cryonics: issues in
questionable medicine and self-determination. [Comment]. Santa
Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal. 1992; 8: 469-498.
Lachs, John
When abstract moralizing runs amok. Journal of Clinical Ethics.
1994 Spring; 5(1): 10-13.
Lee, Melinda A.; Tolle, Susan W.
Oregon's plans to legalise suicide assisted by a doctor. [Editorial].
BMJ (British Medical Journal). 1995 March 11; 310(6980): 613-614.
Leenen, H.J.J. Dutch Supreme Court about assistance to suicide in
the case of severe mental suffering. European Journal of Health
Law. 1994; 1(4): 377-379.
Lester, Arthur M. Physician-assisted suicide. In:
American College of Legal Medicine. Legal Medicine.
Third Edition. St. Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book; 1995: 424-431. KF3821.L44 1995
Lindsay, Ronald A. Assisted suicide: will the Supreme Court
respect the autonomy rights of dying patients? Free Inquiry.
1996-1997 Winter; 17(1): 4-5.
Linville, John E. Physician-assisted suicide as a constitutional
right. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3):
198-206.
Lo, Bernard; Rothenberg, Karen H.; Vasko, Michael.
Physician-assisted suicide in context: constitutional, regulatory, and
professional challenges. [Introduction to a set of 7 articles by D.C. Thomasma;
J.E. Linville; J. Schwartz; C.H. Coleman and A.R. Fleischman; F.G. Miller, H.
Brody, and T.E. Quill; W.G. Bartholome; and D.K. Kjervik]. Journal
of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3): 181-182.
Lowy, Frederick; Sawyer, Douglas M.; Williams, John R.
Canadian physicians and euthanasia: 4. Lessons from experience.
Canadian Medical Association Journal. 1993 June 1; 148(11):
1895-1899.
Machler, Susan
People with pipes: a question of euthanasia. [Comment]. University of
Puget Sound Law Review. 1993 Winter; 16(2): 781-832.
Mahoney, Roger; and the Catholic Bishops of Washington State.
Raising the stakes in the euthanasia debate: judge rules on Washington
law. Origins. 1994 May 26; 24(2): 17, 19-20.
May, William F. Moral and religious reservations about
euthanasia. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds.
Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 103-119.
McCullough, Laurence B.; Winslade, William J. Why VHA should keep
the door to physician-assisted suicide closed. [Article and response].
NCCE News (Veterans Health Administration National Center for Clinical
Ethics). 1996 Fall; 4(3): 1-2, 9-11.
McGee, Daniel B. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: a
Believers' Church perspective. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R.,
eds. Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 303-330.
Mendiola, Michael M. Overworked, but uncritically tested: human
dignity and the aid-in-dying debate. In: Shelp, Earl E., ed.
Secular Bioethics in Theological Perspective. Boston,
MA: Kluwer Academic; 1996: 129-143.
Michigan. Circuit Court, Oakland County
People v. Kevorkian. [Case No.: CR-92-115190-FC. (Date of Decision: 21
July 1992)] Issues in Law and Medicine. 1993 Fall. 9(2): 189-208.
Miech, Ralph P. Physician assisted suicide. [Irony].
Linacre Quarterly. 1995 Aug; 62(3): 65-66.
Miles, Steven; Pappas, Demetra M.; Koepp, Robert. Considerations
of safeguards proposed in laws and guidelines to legalize assisted suicide.
In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 205-223.
Miller, Franklin G. A communitarian approach to
physician-assisted death. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare
Ethics. 1997 Winter; 6(1): 78-87.
Miller, Franklin G.; Brody, Howard; Quill, Timothy E. Can
physician-assisted suicide be regulated effectively? Journal of
Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3): 225-232.
Miller, Franklin G.; Fletcher, John C.
Physician-assisted suicide and active euthanasia. In: Humber, James M.;
Almeder, Robert F.; Kasting, Gregg A., eds. Biomedical Ethics Reviews,
1993. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 1994: 75-97.
Miller, Franklin G.
Legalizing physician-assisted suicide by judicial decision: a critical
appraisal. In: BioLaw: A Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health
Care, and Bioengineering. Special Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD:
University Publications of America; 1996 July-August: S:136-S:145.
Miller, Pamela J.; Hedlund, Susan C.
Oregon's assisted suicide law: a different perspective.
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care. 1996
May-Jun; 13(3): 26-33.
Milton, Neil.
Lessons from
. Issues in Law and
Medicine. 1995 Fall; 11(2): 123-148.
Morgan, Rebecca C.; Marks, Thomas C.; Harty-Golder, Barbara.
The issue of personal choice: the competent incurable patient and the right
to commit suicide? Missouri Law Review. 1992 Winter; 57(1): 1-49.
Morris, Brenton Kirk. Physician assisted suicide: the abortion of
the nineties. [Comment]. Law and Psychology Review. 1996
Spring; 20: 215-229.
Murphy, Patricia. Nursing's role in the assisted suicide debate.
[Editorial]. American Journal of Nursing. 1997 Jun; 97(6): 80.
Nadeau, Robert.
Charting the legal trends: euthanasia in Canada, the United States, and the
Netherlands. In: Gentles, Ian, ed. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: The
Current Debate. Toronto, ON: Stoddart; 1995: 7-27, 105-118. (R726.E83
1995)
Nelson, Hilde Lindemann.
Death with Kantian dignity. Journal of Clinical Ethics. 1996 Fall;
7(3): 215-221.
New York's ban of assisted suicide struck down. Origins.
1996
April 25; 25(44): 759-766.
Ogilvie, Alan D.; Potts, S.G.
Assisted suicide for depression: the slippery slope in action? Learning from
the Dutch experience. [Editorial]. BMJ (British Medical Journal).
1994 August 20-27; 309(6953): 492-493.
olde Scheper, T.M.J.J.; Duursma, S.A.
Euthanasia: the Dutch experience. Age and Ageing. 1994 January;
23(1): 3-8.
Olsen, Pat.
Physician assisted suicide. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative
Care. 1995 January-February; 12(1): 9-12.
Oregon.
Oregon Death with Dignity Act [Ballot Measure 16]. Trends in Health
Care, Law and Ethics. 1994 Fall. 9(4). 29-32.
Oregon. Legislature.
Measure No. 16: The Oregon Death with Dignity Act. Official 1994 General
Election Voters' Pamphlet -- Statewide Measures; 1994. 4 p (121-124).
Orentlicher, David. The Supreme Court and physician-assisted
suicide -- rejecting assisted suicide but embracing euthanasia. New
England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Oct 23; 337(17): 1236-1239.
Orentlicher, David.
The legalization of physician-assisted suicide. New England Journal of
Medicine. 1996 August 29; 335(9): 663-667.
Overberg, Kenneth R., ed.
Mercy or Murder? Euthanasia, Morality and Public Policy. Kansas
City, MO: Sheed and Ward; 1993. 278 p.
Pankratz, H. Robert C. The
decision: concerns of
a primary care physician. Humane Medicine. 1995 Jan; 11(1):
16-22.
Paquette, Simon. Oregon's assisted suicide law.
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care. 1996 Jan-Feb; 13(1):
11-16.
Paris, John J. Autonomy and physician-assisted suicide.
America. 1997 May 17; 176(17): 11-14.
Pellegrino, Edmund D.
Compassion needs reason too. [Commentary]. JAMA. 1993 August 18;
270(7): 874-875.
Pence, Greg.
Dr. Kevorkian and the struggle for physician-assisted dying.
Bioethics. 1995 January; 9(1): 62-71.
Persels, Jim.
Forcing the issue of physician-assisted suicide: impact of the Kevorkian case
on the euthanasia debate. Journal of Legal Medicine. 1993 March;
14(1): 93-124.
Phillips, Pat. Views of assisted suicide from several nations.
JAMA. 1997 Sep 24; 278(12): 969-970.
Physician-assisted suicide and the right to die with assistance.
[Note]. Harvard Law Review. 1992 June; 105(8): 2021-2040.
Posner, Richard A.
Euthanasia and geronticide. In: [his] Aging and Old Age.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; 1995: 235-261.
Pugliese, Julia.
Don't ask -- don't tell: the secret practice of physician-assisted suicide.
[Note]. Hastings Law Journal. 1993 August; 44(6): 1291-1330.
Pullicino, Patrick; Drickamer, Margaret A.; Lee, Melinda A.; Ganzini,
Linda. Physician-assisted suicide. [Letter and response].
Annals of Internal Medicine. 1997 Jul 15; 127(2): 174.
Quill, Timothy E. A Midwife Through the Dying Process: Stories of
Healing and Hard Choices at the End of Life. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins University Press; 1996. 239 p. R726.Q55 1996
Quill, Timothy E.; Klagsbrun, Samuel C.; Grossman, Howard A.
Brief for Respondents: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858. Filed in
the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996 Dec 10. 51 p.
Quill, Timothy E. Doctor, I want to die. Will you help me?
JAMA. 1993 August 18; 270(7): 870-873.
Quill, Timothy E.; Tolle, Susan W.; Annas, George J.
The Oregon Death with Dignity Act. [Letters and response]. New England
Journal of Medicine. 1995 April 27; 332(17): 1174-1175.
Rehm, David; Martin, Edward.
The hospice response to proposals of assisted suicide.
Rhode Island Medicine. 1992 Mar; 75(3): 127-128.
Roberts, Daniel A. Ask your ancestors and they will tell you.
In: Morgan, John D., ed. Ethical Issues in the Care of
the Dying and Bereaved Aged. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing;
1996: 313-322. R726.8.E87 1996
Robichaud, Todd David.
Toward a more perfect union: a federal cause of action for physician
aid-in-dying. [Note]. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.
1994 Winter; 27(2): 521-564.
Robinson, John H.
Physician assisted suicide: its challenge to the prevailing constitutional
paradigm. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy. 1995;
9(2): 345-366.
Roy, David J.
When judges err. [Editorial]. Journal of Palliative Care. 1996
Summer; 12(2): 3-5.
Royal Dutch Medical Association.
Euthanasia in the Netherlands. 4th Edition. Utrecht, The
Netherlands: The
Association (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot bevordering der
Geneeskunst); 1995 December. 138 p.
Ruskay, Shira. Death with dignity: an alternative model.
Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. 1996 Sep 20;
27(517): 3-4.
Salter, Robert B. Euthanasia: a personal perspective.
Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association. 1996
Jun; 92(6): 275-279.
Schwartz, Jack. Writing the rules of death: state regulation of
physician-assisted suicide. Journal of Law, Medicine and
Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3): 207-216.
Scofield, Giles R. Physician-assisted suicide: part of the problem or
part of the solution? Trends in Health Care, Law and Ethics. 1992
Winter; 7(2): 15-18.
Scofield, Giles R. Privacy (or liberty) and assisted suicide.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 1991 July; 6(5): 280-288.
Sembrot, William B.; Corboy, John R.; Swanson, Howard J.;
Gates, Thomas J.; Girsh, Faye; Leff, Arnold Sterne; Kopp,
Vincent J.; Preston, Thomas A.; Orentlicher, David; Annas,
George J.
Physician-assisted suicide. [Letters and response].
New England Journal of Medicine. 1997 Feb 6; 336(6): 439-441.
Shih, Willard C.
Assisted suicide, the due process clause and fidelity in
translation. [Note].
Fordham Law Review. 1995 Mar; 63(4): 1245-1282.
Skoutajan, Hanns F.
Post-sacred society.
Christian Century. 1995 Oct 18; 112(29): 948-950.
Smith, Cheryl K.
Current law on physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. In:
Battin, Margaret P.; Lipman, Arthur G., eds. Drug Use in Assisted Suicide and
Euthanasia. New York, NY: Pharmaceutical Products Press/Haworth Press; 1996:
139-149.
Smith, Cheryl K.
What about legalized assisted suicide? Issues in Law and Medicine.
1993 Spring; 8(4): 503-519.
Smith, David. Euthanasia. In his: Life and
Morality: Contemporary Medico-Moral Issues. Dublin: Gill and
Macmillan; 1996: 178-247, 277-291. R724.S558 1996
Sobel, Richard M.; Layon, A. Joseph. Physician-assisted suicide:
compassionate care or brave new world? [Editorial]. Archives of
Internal Medicine. 1997 Aug 11-25; 157(15): 1638-1640.
Somerville, Margaret A.
The song of death: the lyrics of euthanasia. Journal of Contemporary
Health Law and Policy. 1993 Spring (November Suppl.); 9: 1-76.
Spielman, Bethany.
Skating close to the constitutional line. In: BioLaw: A Legal and
Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering. Special
Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America; 1996
July-August: S:133-S:136.
Steinberg, M.; Cartwright, C.; Williams, G.; Robinson, G.; Tyler, W.
Survey of approval of Australia's Northern Territory Rights of the
Terminally Ill Act (1995). [Letter]. Lancet. 1997 Feb 22;
349(9051): 577.
Stolberg, Sylvia D. Human dignity and disease, disability,
suffering: a philosophical contribution to the euthanasia and assisted suicide
debate. Humane Medicine. 1995 Nov; 11(4): 144-147.
Stone, T. Howard; Winslade, William J. Physician-assisted suicide
and euthanasia in the United States: legal and ethical observations.
Journal of Legal Medicine. 1995 Dec; 16(4): 481-507.
Sulmasy, Daniel Patrick. Killing and Allowing to Die.
Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International; 1995. 506 p. (2
v. in 1).
Tauer, Carol A. Philosophical debate and public policy on
physician-assisted death. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds.
Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 45-65.
Thomasma, David C. When physicians choose to participate in the
death of their patients: ethics and physician-assisted suicide.
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. 1996 Fall; 24(3): 183-197.
Thomasma, David C.
The ethics of physician-assisted suicide. In: Humber, James M.;
Almeder, Robert F.; Kasting, Gregg A., eds. Biomedical Ethics Reviews,
1993. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 1994: 99-133. (R726.P493 1994)
Thomasma, David C.
An analysis of arguments for and against euthanasia and assisted suicide:
part one. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics. 1996 Winter;
5(1): 62-76.
Tilden, Virginia P.; Tolle, Susan W.; Lee, Melinda A.; Nelson, Christine
A. Oregon's physician-assisted suicide vote: its effect on palliative
care. Nursing Outlook. 1996 Mar-Apr; 44(2): 80-83.
Trotter, Griffin. The social aspects of assisted suicide.
Health Care Ethics USA. 1996 Fall; 4(4): 2-3.
United States Catholic Conference. Assisted suicide issue moves
to Supreme Court. [Friend-of-court-brief]. Origins. 1996 Dec
12; 26(26): 421, 423-430.
U.S. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the
Constitution Assisted Suicide in the United States. Hearing, 29 Apr
1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1996. 485
p.
Ubel, Peter A.
Assisted suicide and the case of Dr. Quill and Diane. Issues in Law
and Medicine. 1993 Spring; 8(4): 487-502.
Uhlmann, Michael M.
The legal logic of euthanasia. First Things. 1996 June/July; 64:
39-43.
Urofsky, Melvin I.
Letting Go: Death, Dying, and the Law. Norman, OK: University of
Oklahoma
Press; 1993. 204 p.
Vacco, Dennis C.; Pataki, George E.; Morgenthau, Robert M.
Brief for Petitioners: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Nov 12. 33 p.
Vacco, Dennis C.; Pataki, George E.; Morgenthau, Robert M.
Reply Brief for Petitioners: Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858.
Filed in the United States Supreme Court, Washington, DC; 1996
Dec 24. 20 p.
Vanderpool, Harold Y. Doctors and the dying of patients in
American history. In: Weir, Robert F., ed.
Physician-Assisted Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press; 1997: 33-66.
Verhey, Allen. Assisted suicide and euthanasia: a Biblical and
Reformed perspective. In: Hamel, Ronald P.; DuBose, Edwin R., eds.
Must We Suffer Our Way to Death? Cultural and Theological
Perspectives on Death by Choice. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist
University Press; 1996: 226-265.
Voluntary Euthanasia Society of England and Wales. Draft bill on
physician assisted suicide. Bulletin of Medical Ethics. 1996
Sep; No. 121: 19-22.
Watts, David T.; Howell, Timothy Assisted suicide is not voluntary
active euthanasia. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1992
October; 40(10): 1043-1046.
Waugh, Douglas. Is Jack Kevorkian a hero? Canadian
Medical Association Journal. 1996 Sep 15; 155(6): 761.
Weber, David O. Deathcare: exploring the troubled frontier
between medical technology and human mortality. Healthcare Forum
Journal. 1995 Mar-Apr; 38(2): 14-25, 85.
Weir, Alva B. Who shall decide? An oncologist's question about
physician-assisted suicide. Today's Christian Doctor. 1997
Spring; 28(1): 14-16.
Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997. 266 p.
Weiss, Gregory L. Attitudes of college students about
physician-assisted suicide: the influence of life experiences, religiosity, and
belief in autonomy. Death Studies. 1996 Nov-Dec; 20(6):
587-599.
Wernow, Jerome R.
Oregon's solution. In: Kilner, John F.; Miller, Arlene B.; Pellegrino,
Edmund D., eds. Dignity and Dying: A Christian Appraisal. Grand Rapids,
MI: W.B. Eerdmans; 1996: 135-153.
White, Margot; Spindelman, Marc.
Ninth Circuit ignores medical experience at our peril. In: BioLaw: A
Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering.
Special Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America;
1996 July-August: S:159-S:171.
White, Ronald F.
Physician-assisted suicide and the suicide machine. In: Misbin, Robert
I., ed. Euthanasia: The Good of the Patient, the Good of Society.
Frederick, MD: University Publishing Group; 1992: 189-202. (R726.M57
1992)
Williams, Stephen P.; Marshall, Mary Faith.
Scalia and the Second Circuit: (faux) pas de deux. In: BioLaw: A
Legal and Ethical Reporter on Medicine, Health Care, and Bioengineering.
Special Sections, 2(7-8). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America;
1996 July-August: S:132-S:133.
Williams, Stephen P.
South Carolina law and physician assisted suicide. Journal of the
South Carolina Medical Association. 1996 February; 92(2): 62.
Winkelaar, Philip; Dunn, R.W.; Waugh, Douglas. Kevorkian: tragic
hero. [Letters and response]. Canadian Medical Association
Journal. 1996 Dec 1; 155(11): 1547-1548.
Winslade, William J. Physician-assisted suicide: evolving public
policies. In: Weir, Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted
Suicide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 224-239.
Wolf, Susan M. Physician-assisted suicide, abortion, and
treatment refusal: using gender to analyze the difference. In: Weir,
Robert F., ed. Physician-Assisted Suicide.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press; 1997: 167-201.
Wolf, Susan M.
Gender, feminism, and death: physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.
In: Wolf, Susan M., ed. Feminism and Bioethics: Beyond Reproduction.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1996: 287-317.
Zucker, Arthur. Law and ethics [assisted suicide].
Death Studies. 1997 Jan-Feb; 21(1): 107-110.
Last update: August 31, 2000
Go to the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature
Go to Library & Information Services, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
|