Name: Samantha Sparta

Case Title: Vacco et al v. Quill et al

Description of the case by student: A complaint was filed on July 20, 1994 against Timothy E. Quill, M.D.; Samuel C. Klagsbrun, M.D.; and Howard A. Grossman, M.D.. The three doctors were sought to aid a Jane Doe who had thyroid cancer, George A. Kingsley and William A. Barth, who both suffered from AIDS. All three were advised and understood that they were in the terminal stage of terminal illness and that there was no chance for survival. Each of them sought to hasten death "in a certain and humane manner" and for that purpose sought "necessary medical assistance in the form of medications prescribed by [her or his] physician to be self-administered. The three doctors admitted that under normal circumstances they would have administered the drugs but New York State law prevented them from doing so.

URL?s for the articles describing case:

Supreme Court ruling

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-1858.ZS.html

Article from New England Journal of Medicine on success of Oregon law

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/342/8/557

United States Court of Appeal decision on Vacco v. Quill

http://www.tourolaw.edu/2ndcircuit/april96/95-7028.html

Article from Annuals of Internal Medicine

http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15jan97/pipas.htm

URL?s for articles with ethical position:

Article from Stanford?s Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/

Article from Christianity Today magazine (Natural Law Theory)

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/002/31.26.html

Report by American Psychology Association

http://www.apa.org/pi/aseol/introduction.html

Article on Ethics in Medicine from the University of Washington School of Medicine

http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/topics/pas.html#ques2