Is assisted suicide a substitute for unassisted suicide?

Assisted Suicide and Unassisted Suicide: What's the Difference?

Introduction Discussions about whether or not to legalize assisted suicide often fail to take into account the fact that unassisted suicide [1] is already legal.[2] Failure to consider this fact means that unless there is a significant difference between assisted suicide and unassisted suicide that justifies prohibiting the former while permitting the latter, one must either accept inconsistenc...

Euthanasia and assisted suicide: is mercy sufficient?

Assisted and unassisted suicide in men and women: longitudinal study of the Swiss population.

BACKGROUND In Switzerland assisted suicide is legal if no self-interest is involved. AIMS To compare the strength and direction of associations with sociodemographic factors between assisted and unassisted suicides. METHOD We calculated rates and used Cox and logistic regression models in a longitudinal study of the Swiss population. RESULTS Analyses were based on 5 004 403 people, 1301 a...

Physician-assisted suicide.

Medical professional codes have long prohibited physician involvement in assisting a patient's suicide. However, despite ethical and legal prohibitions, calls for the liberalization of this ban have grown in recent years. The medical profession should articulate its views on the arguments for and against changes in public policy and decide whether changes are prudent. In addressing such a conte...

Physician-assisted suicide.

On election day, November 14, 1994, Oregon voters elected a physician, Dr. John Kitzhaber, as their governor and, simultaneously, granted physicians the legal authority to help people end their own lives. By passing Ballot Measure 16,1 the voters decided that a physician may, at a patient's request, prescribe a medication "for the purpose of ending his or her life in a humane and dignified mann...