Summary: Six states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws providing for “physician-assisted suicide.” Sometimes proposed as relief for patients undergoing pain and suffering, physician-assisted suicide constitutes a major break with the traditional medical ethics embodied in the Hippocratic Oath that call on doctors to heal patients. Many analysts across the ideological spectrum agree: the normalization of medical killing poses a threat to the poor, disabled, and vulnerable members of society. How can policymakers address the need for persons to plan for terminal illness - and improve end of life care?Our expert panel will address these and many other questions.
