The Changing Legal Climate for Physician Aid in Dying
JAMA, Vol. 311, Number 19, p. 1961-1962 (2014)
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Research Paper No. 2014-24
Posted: 23 May 2014 Last revised: 22 Jul 2014
Date Written: May 1, 2014
Abstract
While once widely rejected as a health care option, physician aid in dying is receiving increased recognition as a response to the suffering of patients at the end of life. With aid in dying, a physician writes a prescription for a life-ending medication for an eligible patient. Following the recommendation of the American Public Health Association, the term aid in dying rather than "assisted suicide" is used to describe the practice. In this Viewpoint, the authors describe the changing legal climate for physician aid in dying occurring in several states.
Keywords: aid in dying, assisted suicide, active euthanasia, death with dignity, life-sustaining, physician aid, dying, death, end-of-life, patient, mentally competent, terminally ill, Quinlan, doctor, death panels, quality of life
JEL Classification: I00, I12, I18, K3, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Ben A. Rich
University of California, Davis ( email )
Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall
Davis, CA CA 95616-5201
United States
HOME PAGE: http://bioethics.ucdavis.edu/brich/