The Massachusetts Medical Society has indicated willingness to bend in its historic opposition to physician-assisted death.
The policy-making body last month agreed to fund a $25,000 survey of members asking attitudes toward “medical aid in dying,” according to The Boston Globe.
Despite the decisive support the initiative to fund the survey received, “deep divisions” still surfaced during the meeting at which the vote occurred.
Some participants philosophized about “death with dignity” while others cited the promises of the Hippocratic Oath — namely, “do no harm,” The Globe reports.
Supporters and critics, according to The Globe report, refer to the practice in different terms. The former say “medical aid in dying,” the latter, “physician-assisted suicide.”