Lewis Thomas has noted that doctors "are as frightened and bewilderedby the act of death as everyone else"1. "Death is shocking,dismaying, even terrifying," Thomas has written. "A dying patientis a kind of freak . . . an offense against nature itself"1.It is thus not surprising that many physicians have difficultytalking candidly with dying patients and caring for them, areaction that often results in undermedication for pain andexpensive and ineffective overtreatment.
American patients know this, and although death is a culture-wideenemy, many Americans fear the process of dying in an impersonal. . . [Full Text of this Article]
Lindsay, R. A.
(2002). Should We Impose Quotas? Evaluating the "Disparate Impact" Argument Against Legalization of Assisted Suicide. J Law Med Ethics
30: 6-16
Spindelman, M. S.
(2002). Legislating Privilege. J Law Med Ethics
30: 24-33
Cooke, M., Gourlay, L., Collette, L., Boccellari, A., Chesney, M. A., Folkman, S.
(1998). Informal Caregivers and the Intention to Hasten AIDS-Related Death. Arch Intern Med
158: 69-75
[Abstract][Full Text]
Back, A. L., Wallace, J. I., Starks, H. E., Pearlman, R. A.
(1996). Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Washington State: Patient Requests and Physician Responses. JAMA
275: 919-925
[Abstract]
Alpers, A., Lo, B.
(1995). Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: A Bold Experiment. JAMA
274: 483-487
[Abstract]
Annas, G. J.
(1994). Death by Prescription. NEJM
331: 1240-1243
[Full Text]
Bachman, J. G., Doukas, D. J., Lichtenstein, R. L., Alcser, K. H.
(1994). Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Michigan. NEJM
331: 812-813
[Full Text]
Peteet, J. R.
(1994). Treating Patients Who Request Assisted Suicide: A Closer Look at the Physician's Role. Arch Fam Med
3: 723-727
[Abstract]
Cohen, J. S., Fihn, S. D., Boyko, E. J., Jonsen, A. R., Wood, R. W.
(1994). Attitudes toward Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia among Physicians in Washington State. NEJM
331: 89-94
[Abstract][Full Text]
Quill, T. E.
(1993). The Ambiguity of Clinical Intentions. NEJM
329: 1039-1040
[Full Text]