Physician-assisted suicide

The Position Statement of the Committee onBioethical Issues of the Medical Society of the State ofNewYork indicates that physicians respect the principle of patient autonomy, which requires that Physicians respect the decision-making capacity to go life-sustaining treatment.

Abstract

suicide is fundamentally inconsistent withthephysician's professional role. Therecently passed referendum onphysicianassisted suicide inOregon that isnowpending legal disposition inthecourts, therecent legalization ofactive euthanasia inthenorthwest territories ofAustralia, and thecontinuing involvement ofJack Kevorkian inassistingpatients inending their lives prompts theCommittee toreiterate its position onthis issue. Brief State ofControversy. Twodiametrically opposingviews onactive euthanasia andphysician-assisted dyinghavesplit boththemedical community andthelay public approximately equally. Oneviewisthat aterminally ill person whoissuffering severe painordistress that cannot besatisfactorily relieved byavailable medicaland/or surgical techniques, orwhoissuffering from anincurable disease ordisability, should havetheright toelect toterminate hisorherlife andtoobtain assistance inachieving aneffective, painless, andrapid death. Nophysician isobliged toprovide suchassistance, but aphysician whoiswilling toshould bepermitted todo sowithout fear ofcriminal orcivil liability. Theother point ofviewisthat recent technological andtherapeutic advances inmedicine donotjustify the alteration ofthetime-honored ethical canonprohibitingphysician-assisted suicide andactive euthanasia. The mottoofthephysician was,is, andalways should beto affirm life andnottopostpone orhasten death. This view allows andevenmandates, undercertain circumstances, theforgoing orwithholding offutile oruseless medical therapy andattention topainrelief, butnotthe active killing ofthepatient. Position Statement oftheCommittee onBioethical Issues oftheMedical Society oftheState ofNewYork. Theprinciple ofpatient autonomy requires that physicians respect thedecision ofapatient whopossesses decision-making capacity toforgo life-sustaining treatment. Thelatter isdefined asanymedical treatment that