Physician-Assisted Suicide: Finding a Path Forward in a Changing Legal Environment
Authors: Timothy E. Quill, Robert M. Arnold, Stuart J. Youngner
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Editorials17 October 2017Physician-Assisted Suicide: Finding a Path Forward in a Changing Legal EnvironmentTimothy E. Quill, MD, Robert M. Arnold, MD, and Stuart J. Youngner, MDTimothy E. Quill, MDFrom University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.Search for more papers by this author, Robert M. Arnold, MDFrom University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.Search for more papers by this author, and Stuart J. Youngner, MDFrom University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2160 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Imagine yourself with a disease that has recently become terminal. What kinds of treatments and options would be most important to you? Almost everyone would want to be sure their physicians had considered, if not tried, all potentially effective disease-directed therapy and best possible palliative treatments to maximize their quantity and quality of life. Many patients would want to consider a timely transition to hospice care if no acceptable disease-directed therapies existed, hoping to live as fully as possible for their remaining time, and then to die peacefully. On these points we are completely in sync with the American College ...References1. Snyder Sulmasy L, Mueller PS; Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee of the American College of Physicians. Ethics and the legalization of physician-assisted suicide: an American College of Physicians position paper. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167:576-8. doi:10.7326/M17-0938 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Quill TE. Doctor, I want to die. Will you help me? JAMA. 1993;270:870-3. [PMID: 8340988] MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Pearlman RA, Hsu C, Starks H, Back AL, Gordon JR, Bharucha AJ, et al. Motivations for physician-assisted suicide. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20:234-9. [PMID: 15836526] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Quill TE, Lo B, Brock DW. Palliative options of last resort: a comparison of voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, terminal sedation, physician-assisted suicide, and voluntary active euthanasia. JAMA. 1997;278:2099-104. [PMID: 9403426] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Emanuel EJ, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD, Urwin JW, Cohen J. Attitudes and practices of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the United States, Canada, and Europe. JAMA. 2016;316:79-90. [PMID: 27380345] doi:10.1001/jama.2016.8499 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Meier DE, Emmons CA, Wallenstein S, Quill T, Morrison RS, Cassel CK. A national survey of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:1193-201. [PMID: 9554861] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Oregon Health Authority. Death with Dignity Act Annual Reports. 2017. Accessed at www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Pages/ar-index.aspx on 18 August 2017. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-2160.Corresponding Author: Timothy E. Quill, MD, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 687, Rochester, NY 14642; e-mail, [email protected]rochester.edu.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Quill: University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 687, Rochester, NY 14642.Dr. Arnold: 1232 North Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.Dr. Youngner: Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106.This article was published at Annals.org on 19 September 2017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Slippery Slope of Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide William G. Kussmaul III Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide: An American College of Physicians Position Paper Lois Snyder Sulmasy , Paul S. Mueller , and Metrics Cited byExperience and Attitudes Regarding Medical Aid in Dying, Act 39, among Vermont Primary Care Physicians: A Call for More Education and ResourcesEthical Perspectives on Body Donation Following Physician‐Assisted DeathHealth Care Providers’ Experiences with Implementing Medical Aid-in-Dying in Vermont: a Qualitative Study 17 October 2017Volume 167, Issue 8Page: 597-598KeywordsDisclosureEuthanasiaLife expectancyMotivationPainPalliative carePrevention, policy, and public healthQuality of lifeQuestionnairesSuicide ePublished: 19 September 2017 Issue Published: 17 October 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. 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