Views of united states physicians and members of the American medical association house of delegates on physician-assisted suicide

The question of legalizing physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has become a serious public debate. Growing interest in assisted suicide reflects a public increasingly fearful of the process of dying, particularly the prospect of dying a painful, protracted, or undignified death. PAS has been proposed as a compassionate response to unrelievable suffering, designed to give terminally or incurably ill individuals direct control over the timing, manner, and circumstances of their death. Although the American Medical Association remains firmly opposed to legalizing PAS, many physicians have begun to express support for the practice, and some have acknowledged that they have helped patients commit suicide despite the existing legal ban.As support for PAS grows, it becomes increasingly likely that the practice will be legalized in at least some states in the not-too-distant future. In 1994, Oregon voters approved a referendum legalizing PAS for competent, terminally ill patients; a federal court injunction preventing the referendum from going into effect is currently on appeal, and it is widely expected that the injunction will be lifted.

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The American Medical Association and Physician-Assisted Suicide

The Linacre Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0024363918764479 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (2) ◽

pp. 102-105

Author(s):

Frederick J. White

Keyword(s):

American Medical Association ◽

Medical Association ◽

American Medical ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Physician Assisted Suicide

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US medical and surgical society position statements on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia: a review

BMC Medical Ethics ◽

10.1186/s12910-020-00556-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joseph G. Barsness ◽

Casey R. Regnier ◽

C. Christopher Hook ◽

Paul S. Mueller

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

American Medical Association ◽

Medical Association ◽

American Medical ◽

Word Frequency ◽

Assisted Suicide ◽

Physician Assisted Suicide ◽

Comprehensive List ◽

Professional Societies ◽

Potential Risks

Abstract Background An analysis of the position statements of secular US medical and surgical professional societies on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia have not been published recently. Available statements were evaluated for position, content, and sentiment. Methods In order to create a comprehensive list of secular medical and surgical societies, the results of a systematic search using Google were cross-referenced with a list of societies that have a seat on the American Medical Association House of Delegates. Societies with position statements were identified. These statements were divided into 5 categories: opposed to PAS and/or euthanasia, studied neutrality, supportive, acknowledgement without statement, and no statement. Linguistic analysis was performed using RapidMinder in order to determine word frequency and sentiment respective to individual statements. To ensure accuracy, only statements with word counts > 100 were analyzed. A 2-tailed independent t test was used to test for variance among sentiment scores of opposing and studied neutrality statements. Results Of 150 societies, only 12 (8%) have position statements on PAS and euthanasia: 11 for PAS (5 opposing and 4 studied neutrality) and 9 for euthanasia (6 opposing and 2 studied neutrality). Although the most popular words used in opposing and studied neutrality statements are similar, notable exceptions exist (suicide, medicine, and treatment appear frequently in opposing statements, but not in studied neutrality statements, whereas psychologists, law, and individuals appear frequently in studied neutrality statements, but not in opposing statements). Sentiment scores for opposing and studied neutrality statements do not differ (mean, 0.094 vs. 0.104; P = 0.90). Conclusions Few US medical and surgical societies have position statements on PAS and euthanasia. Among them, opposing and studied neutrality statements share similar linguistic sentiment. Opposing and studied neutrality statements have clear differences, but share recommendations. Both opposing and studied neutrality statements cite potential risks of PAS legalization and suggest that good palliative care might diminish a patient’s desire for PAS.

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THE PEDIATRICIAN AND THE PUBLIC

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.9.1.124 ◽

1952 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 124-129

Author(s):

LOUIS H. BAUER

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Medical Education ◽

American Medical Association ◽

Medical Association ◽

American Medical ◽

The United States ◽

Board Of Trustees ◽

The State ◽

Governing Body ◽

The Public

The American Medical Association was organized in 1847. Its original aim was the improvement of medical education in the United States. This still remains one of its important activities but the Association has expanded tremendously since its formation. It now consists of 2,011 component county and district societies and 53 constituent associations in the States, Territories and Possessions. County and district societies elect delegates to the state associations and the whole membership of these county societies takes part in their election. These delegates form a State House of Delegates which in turn elects delegates to the American Medical Association. The A.M.A. House of Delegates is the legislative body of the Association and is responsible for all official policies. All reports, resolutions and recommendations are referred by the House to several Reference Committees who hear testimony on both sides of every question and then render reports to the House. Here all reports are debated again and brought to a vote. Any member of the Association, whether or not a member of the House, can appear before a Reference Committee and state his opinions and recommendations on the matter under discussion. Between sessions of the House of Delegates, the Board of Trustees is the governing body.

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