assisted suicide

The hippocratic oath—missing completely from assisted suicide discussion—taken by doctors states: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” The American Medical Association’s official position is that it does not support doctor-assisted suicide. The US supreme court says there’s no constitutional […]

Canada is considered a world leader in doctor-assisted suicide, or “medical assistance in dying”—MAID, as they’ve termed it. And yet, just seven years ago, the practice wasn’t even legal until a unanimous Supreme Court struck down Canada’s law banning it. The court gave Parliament 12 months to write a new law and instructed that law […]

Canada is now a world leader in physician-assisted suicide (PAS)—and it only took a few years to get there. Critics of medical assistance in dying, or MAiD as Canada calls it, point to Canada as a prime example of how slippery the slope can be once the line is crossed and the practice is made […]

Doctor-assisted suicide just got easier in California. Doctors are compelled to participate, even those who fundamentally object. So they’re suing the state, as we learn from plaintiff Dr. Leslee Cochrane, executive medical director at Hospice of the Valleys, and attorney Christy Hirsch with Alliance Defending Freedom. The disabled community is especially concerned about assisted suicide. Lawrence […]

On it’s surface, physician-assisted suicide sounds straightforward. Why shouldn’t a consenting adult be allowed to decide how and when to die, if death is imminent, and living is filled with pain and suffering? While it sounds simple, the moment you crack it open, all of the ethical, practical, medical, legal, and religious implications fly out […]

Consistently, one of the loudest voices opposing physician-assisted suicide laws are advocates for people with disabilities. For many of us, their concerns might not be immediately obvious. Lawrence Carter-Long, with Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, explains how legalizing assisted suicide puts those with disabilities at great risk. “The lives of disabled people are severely […]