Views regarding physician-assisted suicide: a study of medical professionals at various points in their training

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Kitching ◽  
Andrew James Stevens ◽  
Louise Forman
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Postal Questionnaire ◽  
Acute Hospital ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
The Uk

In this study, we sought to obtain detailed opinion on some of the practical issues that might arise should physician-assisted suicide (PAS) ever be legalized in the UK. We carried out an anonymous postal questionnaire of medical students, junior and senior doctors working at an acute hospital trust, over a three-week period. A total of 435 questionnaires were distributed and we had an overall return rate of 34%. We found that opinions changed very little as doctors progressed from medical school through to senior clinical positions. Overall, there was neutral opinion on whether PAS should be legalized. There was strong support for a multidisciplinary approach to the process and the involvement of the coroner. An opt-out clause for physicians who did not want to be involved in assisted suicide also received strong support.

Conscientious objection and physician-assisted suicide: a viable option in the UK?

2018 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2018-001541
Author(s):  
Derek Willis ◽  
Rob George
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Future Application ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Legal Grounds

Conscience objection is a proposed way of ensuring that medical practitioners who object to physician-assisted suicide may avoid having to be involved in such a procedure if this is legalised. This right on the part of healthcare professionals already exists in certain circumstances. This paper examines the ethical and legal grounds for conscientious objection for medical professionals and shows how it is heavily criticised in circumstances where it is already used. The paper comes to the conclusion that as the grounds and application of conscience objection are no longer as widely accepted, its future application in any legislation can be called into question.

Rights Discourse and Assisted Suicide

2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-99
Author(s):  
Penney Lewis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Supreme Courts ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Law Professors

The debate surrounding the legalization of assisted suicide has been galvanized in recent years by reports of specific cases of assisted suicide, primarily involving physicians such as Kevorkian and Quill, and by impassioned pleas for legalization and assistance in suicide from individuals suffering in the throes of terminal or agonizing diseases, such as Sue Rodriguez. Media attention on criminal trials of individuals accused of assisting in a suicide has heightened public awareness of the issue. The constitutionality of criminal prohibitions on assisted suicide has been tested in various jurisdictions, and has recently been considered by the Supreme Courts of both the United States and Canada. Following two narrowly unsuccessful attempts to enact dignified death provisions by referenda in Washington and California, Oregon voters passed the first of such proposed laws in November 1994, providing for physician-assisted suicide under certain specified conditions. Attempts to introduce legislation to legalize assisted suicide in other jurisdictions have been galvanized by the success in Oregon. A model statute has been drafted by a group of law professors, philosophers and medical professionals.

scholarly journals Medical Students' Attitudes Toward Physician-Assisted Suicide

JAMA ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 282 (21) ◽  
pp. 2080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Mangus ◽  
Albert Dipiero ◽  
Claire E. Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Students Attitudes

Physician Assisted Suicide: Knowledge and Views of Fifth-Year Medical Students in Germany

Death Studies ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Schildmann ◽  
Eva Herrmann ◽  
Nicole Burchardi ◽  
Ulrich Schwantes ◽  
Jochen Vollmann
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide

Suicide Tourism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Contractual Agreements ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Law

This book explores the phenomenon of ‘suicide tourism’. Freedom of movement creates problems with policies constrained by national boundaries and, as more countries contemplate regulating assisted suicide, there is now a pressing need for a theoretical investigation of the issues that provides a thorough appraisal of the global situation. Switzerland is no longer the only country where a person can find assistance for legal suicide. A similar law has been passed in Croatia, and Dutch and Belgian laws do not prohibit assisted suicide for non-residents. Few states in the US provide for physician-assisted suicide for state residents but US citizens from elsewhere can take simple steps to overcome this restriction. As more countries legally permit assisted suicide, suicide tourism will become a larger and more complex global practice. The book sets out the parameters for future debate, first contextualizing the practice and casting light on how it is treated under international and domestic law. It then analyses the ethical ramifications, and considers where the state’s responsibility should lie in dealing with accompanying persons and in regulating contractual agreements. It also contains a sociological and cultural analysis of suicide tourism, a review of policy and media reports on the topic, and interviews with various stakeholders (including policymakers, and medical and patients’ organizations) in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. The book concludes with a summary of the legal, ethical, political, and sociological dimensions of suicide tourism, offering recommendations for how professionals and policymakers might respond to this evolving phenomenon.

scholarly journals Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: a systematic review of medical students’ attitudes in the last 10 years

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Gutierrez-Castillo ◽  
Javier Gutierrez-Castillo ◽  
Francisco Guadarrama-Conzuelo ◽  
Amado Jimenez-Ruiz ◽  
Jose Luis Ruiz-Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Approval Rate ◽  
Relief Of Suffering ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Acceptance Rates

This study aimed at examining the approval rate of the medical students’ regarding active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, and physician-assisted-suicide over the last ten years. To do so, the arguments and variables affecting students’ choices were examined and a systematic review was conducted, using PubMed and Web of Science databases, including articles from January 2009 to December 2018. From 135 identified articles, 13 met the inclusion criteria. The highest acceptance rates for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were from European countries. The most common arguments supporting euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were the followings: (i) patient’s autonomy (n = 6), (ii) relief of suffering (n = 4), and (ii) the thought that terminally-ill patients are additional burden (n = 2). The most common arguments against euthanasia were as follows: (i) religious and personal beliefs (n = 4), (ii) the “slippery slope” argument and the risk of abuse (n = 4), and (iii) the physician’s role in preserving life (n = 2). Religion (n = 7), religiosity (n = 5), and the attributes of the medical school of origin (n = 3) were the most significant variables to influence the students’ attitude. However, age, previous academic experience, family income, and place of residence had no significant impact. Medical students' opinions on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide should be appropriately addressed and evaluated because their moral compass, under the influence of such opinions, will guide them in solving future ethical and therapeutic dilemmas in the medical field.

End-of-Life Options Act Fails to Protect Conscience Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Kubick ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Life Options

In March 2021, New Mexico became the ninth state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. This practice, which allows medical professionals to aid in the intentional death of their patients, is counter to Catholic teaching. As such, it raises concerns regarding the conscience rights of Catholic physicians, as well as physicians who are morally opposed to the practice. In particular, while there ostensibly are protections for those who object, the requirement for physicians unwilling to aid in the deaths of their patients to refer said patients to physicians who will, essentially compels individuals to participate in an act that is intrinsically evil.

Empirical research in the debate on physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Stephen W Smith
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Voluntary Euthanasia ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
End Of Life Decisions ◽  
The Uk

This article explores the use of empirical data when considering whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and voluntary euthanasia. In particular, it focuses on the evidence available to the Select Committee for the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill on whether or not covert euthanasia is taking place in the UK under the current prohibition of PAS and voluntary euthanasia. The article shows that there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to make any claims about the extent of covert euthanasia within the UK, although there is sufficient evidence to conclude that instances of covert euthanasia do happen. The article also calls for more research to be conducted in order to determine the rate of covert euthanasia in order to inform debate about the legalization of end-of-life decisions such as PAS and voluntary euthanasia.

Could Physician-Assisted Suicide be Classified as a Service Under Article 49 of the European Community Treaty?

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Ben P. Slight
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
European Community ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ec Law

This paper considers whether it is possible to classify physician assisted suicide (PAS) as a ‘service’ for the purposes of Article 49 of the European Community Treaty. It suggests that if PAS were to be formally recognised as a ‘service’ for the purposes of European Community (EC) Law, it is unlikely that the UK Government would be able to deny terminally ill Britons from exercising their rights as EU Citizens to obtain PAS in the more permissive jurisdictions of Member States. This paper will demonstrate that the provision of PAS in a Member State by a Dignitas-type organisation could easily fulfil the requirements of Article 49 and be recognised as a service under Community Law. Owing to the considerable rights that the classification of PAS as a ‘service’ under EC Law would afford terminally ill individuals, the paper will examine the case law of the European Court of Justice relating to the free movement of services. This jurisprudential analysis will contend that it is unlikely that a Member State could invoke any of the agreed exceptions to Article 49 as a method of restricting the availability of PAS as a service within its jurisdiction.

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