A Psychiatric Defense of Aid in Dying

Overview

Journal Community Ment Health J

Specialty Health Services

Date 1998 Dec 2

PMID 9833196

Authors

D M Smith

D Pollack

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In November 1997, the voters of Oregon resoundingly affirmed the Oregon Death With Dignity Act. This law allows competent, terminally ill persons who are suffering in the final 6 months of life to obtain a lethal prescription from a physician. This paper presents a psychiatric defense of the Death With Dignity Act including the role of mental health professionals in evaluating competence in compliance with the law. Ethical, logistical, and political issues related to aid-in-dying are reviewed and a strategy for assessing competence is offered.

References

Quill T, Lo B, Brock D . Palliative options of last resort: a comparison of voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, terminal sedation, physician-assisted suicide, and voluntary active euthanasia. JAMA. 1997; 278(23):2099-104. DOI: 10.1001/jama.278.23.2099. View

Preston T . Professional norms and physician attitudes toward euthanasia. J Law Med Ethics. 1994; 22(1):36-40. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.1994.tb01273.x. View

Graber M, Levy B, Weir R, Oppliger R . Patients' views about physician participation in assisted suicide and euthanasia. J Gen Intern Med. 1996; 11(2):71-6. DOI: 10.1007/BF02599581. View

van der Maas P, van Delden J, Pijnenborg L, Looman C . Euthanasia and other medical decisions concerning the end of life. Lancet. 1991; 338(8768):669-74. DOI: 10.1016/0140-6736(91)91241-l. View

Ganzini L, Fenn D, Lee M, Heintz R, Bloom J . Attitudes of Oregon psychiatrists toward physician-assisted suicide. Am J Psychiatry. 1996; 153(11):1469-75. DOI: 10.1176/ajp.153.11.1469. View

Blendon R, Szalay U, Knox R . Should physicians aid their patients in dying? The public perspective. JAMA. 1992; 267(19):2658-62. View

Cohen J, Fihn S, Boyko E, Jonsen A, Wood R . Attitudes toward assisted suicide and euthanasia among physicians in Washington State. N Engl J Med. 1994; 331(2):89-94. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199407143310206. View

Bachman J, Alcser K, Doukas D, Lichtenstein R, Corning A, Brody H . Attitudes of Michigan physicians and the public toward legalizing physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. N Engl J Med. 1996; 334(5):303-9. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199602013340506. View

Swanson J, McCrary S . Doing all they can: physicians who deny medical futility. J Law Med Ethics. 1994; 22(4):318-26. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720x.1994.tb01313.x. View

10.

Ganzini L, Lee M, Heintz R, Bloom J, Fenn D . The effect of depression treatment on elderly patients' preferences for life-sustaining medical therapy. Am J Psychiatry. 1994; 151(11):1631-6. DOI: 10.1176/ajp.151.11.1631. View

11.

Lee M, Nelson H, Tilden V, Ganzini L, Schmidt T, Tolle S . Legalizing assisted suicide--views of physicians in Oregon. N Engl J Med. 1996; 334(5):310-5. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199602013340507. View

12.

Zaubler T, Sullivan M . Psychiatry and physician-assisted suicide. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1996; 19(3):413-27. DOI: 10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70298-7. View