Assisted suicide advocates from western Massachusetts held a meeting in Worcester to promote the End of Life Options Act. I attended because, as a physician assistant, I am concerned about protecting my vulnerable patients.
They had a hard time answering my questions. “Why six months when it’s difficult to predict death that far ahead? What stops doctors and families from coercing patients? Why force Catholic hospitals to pay to transfer people for PAS? How do we make sure doctors and patients are following the rules? What about nursing homes and others who profit by patients hastening their deaths?”