Monday, September 14, 2015
Physician Assisted Suicide
10:51 AM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
As a society, we tend to avoid talking about the
end of our lives. We prefer to think
about future plans with our current, healthy bodies. Not everyone has this luxury, however. According to the National Cancer Institute,
between 13 and 14 million people have cancer at any given time in the United
States. While not all cancer leads to
death, there are certain types of cancer with a very specific prognosis. In most states, patients given a prognosis of
six months of life to live are offered a simple plan: get your affairs in order and prepare for the
end.
In some states, however, cancer patients with a
prognosis of six months or less to live are given another option: physician
assisted suicide. Those states (Oregon,
Vermont, and Washington) have enacted Death with Dignity Acts. If the patient with that specific prognosis
meets other specific criteria (competency, second opinions, residency, etc.),
they can request a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. Once given the prescription, they can have it
filled at a pharmacy and then must administer the medication themselves – no
one else can give it to them.
Some
states, such as Montana, have legalized physician-assisted suicide via case law
(see Baxter v Montana). Other states are
working on legislation similar to Oregon (they were the first to pass such legislation)
and other states have legislation making physician assisted suicide illegal.
Where does
your state stand? You can look it up at
this website: http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000132
Other
sources:
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