Article Abstract:
In June 1990, a woman named Janet Adkins took her life with the aid of a 'suicide machine', designed by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, in an episode that aroused the nation's interest and fears about legalized mercy killing. Mrs. Adkins, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (a progressive neurological condition leading to complete loss of cognitive function) made the decision to die and flew to Michigan to obtain Dr. Kevorkian's aid. The physician's participation was universally condemned by physicians, lawyers, and ethicists, usually with fairly predictable comments regarding the need for medical professionals to avoid taking lives. In spite of some unsavory aspects of that case, the issue needs to be understood in its full complexity. Although Mrs. Adkins was in good health, many patients suffer profoundly, and it is likely that numerous deaths are planned in some way by patients, their families, and physicians. With many people expressing the belief that physicians should be able to assist patients in taking their own lives, insistence by the medical profession to refuse to participate may ignore patients' wishes. In fact, a more open process for deciding when to assist patients could promote accountability, rather than erode it, as is commonly feared. Doctors, no less than other segments of our society, do not want to accept death, which often leads to the prolongation of dying, without regard for the concept of death with dignity. Medical schools should teach moral reasoning to prepare physicians for these choices. Constraints to prevent abuse of physician-assisted suicide must be maintained, but the issue deserves examination with an open mind. The public appears to want more control over dying, and it is to these people, the patients, that doctors must listen. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
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Article Abstract:
The history of an elderly, terminally ill man illustrates how patients are inappropriately and aggressively treated, adding unnecessarily to their suffering. He was first admitted for left-sided weakness. Doctors diagnosed lung cancer with a brain metastasis. He refused treatment. Admitted three months later with seizures, doctors pressed for surgery. The family refused. During the 29 days before he died, he had daily blood tests, repeated insertions of a nasogastric tube for feeding, was tied down to prevent him removing the tube, and had surgical insertion of a stomach tube when physical restraints failed.
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Article Abstract:
A significant number of physicians in specialist practice have received requests from patients to help them end their lives. Researchers surveyed 1,902 physicians about assisted suicide and euthanasia. Eighteen percent had been asked for medication to assist in suicide, and 11% had been asked for a injection to cause death. Thirty-six percent of physicians reported they would prescribe medications for suicide if it were legal. Almost 5% of physicians had administered a lethal injection, and 3% had written a prescription to hasten death. All acted based on perceived patient wishes.
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