Attitudes toward Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia among Physicians in Washington State

Abstract

The attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia of physicians in Washington State are polarized. A slight majority favors legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in at least some situations, but most would be unwilling to participate in these practices themselves.

Responders and non-responders in a study on medical end-of-life decisions in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland

“…For a long time research was scarce in this fi eld. However, in recent years several studies were conducted quantifying attitudes and practices concerning ELDs (Cohen et al 1994;Deliens et al 2000;Di Mola et al 1996;Peretti-Watel et al 2003;Willems et al 2000). Because proponents and opponents of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide may not answer with a similar frequency, the risk of non-response bias could be particularly high in ELD-studies.…”

Resident Experience and Opinions About Physician-Assisted Death for Cancer Patients

“…Additional surveys of physicians' attitudes toward assisted suicide have inconsistently identified variables associated with the willingness to directly participate in this process. Specialty of practice does not seem to correlate with attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide 13 ; therefore, it is unlikely that our results stem from the fact that all residents are from the Department of Surgery, whereas the faculty are principally nonsurgeons. The nature of residency training does not lend itself to the development of long-term patient-physician relationships, but staff oncologists frequently follow patients for many years prior to the terminal phase of cancer.…”

“…9,[13][14][15] It is estimated that at least 70% of patients with advanced cancer will require prolonged administration of narcotics and that most terminally ill cancer patients are receiving inadequate pain relief. 12,16 Some opponents of physicianassisted death believe that patient wishes for this procedure may result from inadequate pain relief.…”

Should Euthanasia Be Considered Iatrogenic?

“…Despite introduction of legislation legalizing PAS in a number of states, the idea that physicians have a role to play in helping patients' dying processes remains contentious, particularly within the medical community [52][53][54][55][56]. The American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Medical Ethics states, "Permitting physicians to engage in euthanasia would ultimately cause more harm than good.…”