Assisted suicide compared with refusal of treatment: a valid distinction? University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics Assisted Suicide Consensus Panel.
The continuing debate over the deeply controversial issue of physician-assisted suicide has been complicated by confusion about how this practice resembles or differs from refusal of life-sustaining treatment. Perspectives on ethics and policy hinge on the contested issue of whether a valid distinction can be made between assisted suicide and withdrawal of treatment. This paper uses three illustrative cases to examine leading arguments for and against the recognition of a fundamental distinction between these practices. The first case involves assisted suicide by ingestion of prescribed barbiturates, the second involves withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration, and the third involves a decision to stop eating and drinking. On theoretical and practical grounds, this paper defends the position that there is a valid distinction between assisted suicide and refusal of treatment.
Miller
F G
FG
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA.
Fins
J J
JJ
Snyder
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D010166:Palliative Care; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011788:Quality of Life; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D028761:Withholding Treatment