Oregon's plans to legalise suicide assisted by a doctor

An Analysis of Arguments for and Against Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Part One

“…Privately many physicians admit that they helped patients with incurable illnesses by injecting overdoses or writing prescriptions for drugs potent enough to end their patients' suffering. 17 Yet even The Netherlands, a country with a recent history of openly acknowledging euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, still struggles with whether the skills and knowledge of medicine should be used to cause an "easy" death. 18 In The Netherlands euthanasia remains illegal despite the fact that several proposals to decriminalize it have been introduced.…”

Should doctors have a dual role, preserving life and assisting death?

“…Serious consideration of this particular option, should the law be changed, has been urged before,1 but is not considered in articles on euthanasia including those in the BMJ of 11 and 18 March 2 3. It always seems to be assumed that if you legalise assisted suicide you need a doctor to do it.…”

Legalised suicide may increase openness in the doctor-patient relationship

“…EDITOR,—In the editorial about Oregon's plans to legalise suicide assisted by doctor, Melinda A Lee and Susan W Tolle noted that a major advantage of legalisation is that it will increase openness about care at the end of patients' lives, enabling a doctor to improve skills in providing supportive care to dying patients 1. Data gathered on the attitudes of 57 patients in Scotland, all of whom were HIV antibody positive, suggest that the illegality of euthanasia in Britain constrains communication between patient and doctor.…”