Physician-Assisted Suicide and Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disease

Slome, Lee; Mitchell, Thomas F.; Charlebois, Edwin D.; Benevedes, Jeffrey Moulton; Abrams, Donald I.

doi:10.1056/nejm199702063360606

Cited by 67 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…11 In San Francisco, Calif, 53% of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Community Consortium physicians have provided medications to help patients end their lives. 12 Thus, requests for PAS are being received by physicians and, in some cases, are being acceded to.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These sites and specialties were chosen because there had been recent studies of physician attitudes in those locations, 6,12,20 both states had recently defeated legislation regarding assisted suicide, 10 and these specialties are considered at high risk for PAS requests from their patients in other studies. 11,12 In each city, we identified a physician key informant knowledgeable on the subject of assisted suicide. These key informants were identified because they had spoken extensively about PAS in public forums.…”

Section: Study Population and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Physicians' Responses to Patients' Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide

Kohlwes¹,

Koepsell²,

Rhodes³

et al. 2001

Arch Intern Med

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Regardless of divergent attitudes about PAS, physicians respond similarly to requests for assisted suicide from their patients, creating a common ground for professional dialogue. Our sample addressed physical suffering aggressively, treated depression empirically, but struggled with requests arising from existential suffering. A professional code of silence regarding PAS creates professional isolation. Clinicians do not share knowledge or receive social support from peers about their decisions regarding assisted suicide. Educational strategies drawing on approaches used by experienced clinicians may create an atmosphere that enables physicians with divergent beliefs to discuss this difficult subject.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Population and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicians' Responses to Patients' Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide

Kohlwes¹,

Koepsell²,

Rhodes³

et al. 2001

Arch Intern Med

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“…Some physicians treating patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) report performing euthanasia or PAS at higher rates. 19 And many of the patients who have been assisted by Dr Jack Kevorkian have had neurological diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, cancer causes more than 10 times as many deaths in the United States as AIDS and more than 20 times as many deaths as neurological diseases.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been numerous surveys of physicians in Australia, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States, and other countries. 1,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] These surveys have tended to focus on attitudes toward euthanasia and PAS and how frequently these interventions have been performed. Few studies have elucidated the actual details of the practices of euthanasia and PAS.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Practice of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States

Emanuel¹,

Daniels²,

Fairclough³

et al. 1998

JAMA

119

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“…Slome et al . [39] found that 98% of respondents had received requests for PAS and that more than half of all responding physicians reported having granted requests for PAS, with some physicians fulfilling dozens of such requests. Moreover, in response to a hypothetical vignette, nearly half of the sample (48%) indicated that they would be likely to grant a hypothetical patient's initial request for PAS.…”

Section: Euthanasia and Pas In Clinical Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Euthanasia: An Indian perspective

Sinha

Basu

Sarkhel

2012

Indian J Psychiatry

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In our society, the palliative care and quality of life issues in patients with terminal illnesses like advanced cancer and AIDS have become an important concern for clinicians. Parallel to this concern has arisen another controversial issue-euthanasia or “mercy –killing” of terminally ill patients. Proponents of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) feel that an individual's right to autonomy automatically entitles him to choose a painless death. The opponents feel that a physician's role in the death of an individual violates the central tenet of the medical profession. Moreover, undiagnosed depression and possibility of social ‘coercion’ in people asking for euthanasia put a further question mark on the ethical principles underlying such an act. These concerns have led to strict guidelines for implementing PAS. Assessment of the mental state of the person consenting to PAS becomes mandatory and here, the role of the psychiatrist becomes pivotal. Although considered illegal in our country, PAS has several advocates in the form of voluntary organizations like “death with dignity” foundation. This has got a fillip in the recent Honourable Supreme Court Judgment in the Aruna Shaunbag case. What remains to be seen is how long it takes before this sensitive issue rattles the Indian legislature.

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Physician-Assisted Suicide and Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Disease

Abstract: Within a group of physicians caring for patients with HIV disease, the acceptance of assisted suicide increased between 1990 and 1995. A majority of respondents in 1995 said they had granted a request for assisted suicide from a patient with AIDS at least once.

Cited by 67 publications

References 14 publications

Physicians' Responses to Patients' Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide

Physicians' Responses to Patients' Requests for Physician-Assisted Suicide

The Practice of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States

Euthanasia: An Indian perspective

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