Can We Limit a Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide?

2016/01/01 by Teresa Yao · 1 citation
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · Nursing · #Ethics in medical practice #Patient Dignity and Privacy #Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues #Autonomy #Assisted suicide #Contradiction #Terminally ill #Physician assisted suicide #Law #Personal autonomy #Psychology #Medicine #Social psychology #Psychiatry #Political science #Nursing #Epistemology #Philosophy #Palliative care

paper · doi:10.5840/ncbq201616336

openalex publication_date 2016/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

In each US state that has legalized physician-assisted suicide, the law stipulates that it may be pursued only by terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or less to live. It appears that this requirement makes euthanasia laws more palatable for the general public. However, this restriction is not justified by the reasoning commonly used to support assisted suicide. The desire to alleviate suffering and uphold personal autonomy should require that assisted suicide be allowed for individuals who do not have a six-month prognosis. The author concludes that a moral contradiction arises for individuals who support limited assisted suicide but oppose unrestricted suicide because acceptance of the former logically leads to acceptance of the latter.

Cited by

• Assisted suicide [wikipedia]

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