By Frederick J. White, MD About a year ago, the Washington Post reported on the debate at the American Medical Association regarding physician assisted suicide, and asked whether its longstanding opposition might change. The answer is now in, and the answer is a resounding NO. We are...
Scores of people testified before the Joint Committee on Public Health on the Massachusetts End of Life Options Act...
Suicide is the act of intentionally killing oneself. There is nothing in the definition which changes the meaning depending on why one is performing the act. Indeed, even the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals, affirmed by a resounding 5-0 decision in Myers...
When the California law allowing medically assisted suicides passed in 2016, Stephanie Packer, a single mother of four, got a call from her insurance company. Medically assisted suicide “would be much cheaper” than her current treatment, her insurance company told her. The company would no longer...
Massachusetts lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on a proposal to authorize physician-assisted suicides. For the 5th year in a row, lawmakers on Beacon Hill are considering a proposal to legalize lethal injections, and there are a few provisions in the bill that you should know about. On Tuesday,...
State Lawmakers wrapped up their session without voting on the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow terminally ill adults to ask their doctors for life-ending medication. It's been floating around chambers for a couple of years. But with a new democratic majority in...
Proponents say that no one has to choose assisted suicide, but you can only say that when elder and disability abuse are a thing of the past. Coercion always happens behind closed doors. "It can be hard to quantify the problem of elder abuse. Experts believe...
Last week, Maine became the eighth state in the country to legalize assisted suicide. The new law allows doctors to prescribe a fatal dose of medication to terminally ill patients who are expected to die within six months. The law stipulates that the patient must be of...
The American Medical Association voted this week by 71% to 29% to reaffirm its opposition to physician-assisted suicide. Testimony yesterday by medical students and residents on the dangers of the practice to both patients and the physician-patient relationship appear to have carried the day in a reference...
Kristen Hanson, Community Relations Advocate at the Patient's Rights Action Fund, and Stephanie Woodward, Director of Advocacy at the Center for Disability Rights and member of ADAPT, spoke with Susan Arbetter about assisted suicide....