title: Physician-hastened death. Advisory guidelines for the San Francisco Bay area from the Bay Area Network of Ethics Committees.
abstract: Recent high court opinions and pending Supreme Court rulings on the legality of physician-hastened death necessitate a pragmatic response from the medical profession. Adopting a "harm reduction" perspective on this contentious topic, the Bay Area Network of Ethics Committees developed practice guidelines for responding to a patient request for hastened death. The guidelines will be offered to the local medical community for use by individuals and health care institutions if the practice of physician-hastened death becomes legal. A multidisciplinary consensus process was used in developing the guidelines, which address clinical, ethical, and procedural concerns.
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Medical Society, CA 94108, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heilig
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brody
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shavelson
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Sussman
mesh_terms: D033061:Ethics Consultation; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006699:Home Care Services; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011996:Records; D012495:San Francisco; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013727:Terminal Care