Responses to "A comparison of characteristics of Kevorkian euthanasia cases and physician-assisted suicides in Oregon".

Attitudes and Practices of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

IMPORTANCE The increasing legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide worldwide makes it important to understand related attitudes and practices. OBJECTIVE To review the legal status of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and the available data on attitudes and practices. EVIDENCE REVIEW Polling data and published surveys of the public and physicians, official state and ...

Legal physician-assisted dying in Oregon and the Netherlands: evidence concerning the impact on patients in "vulnerable" groups.

BACKGROUND Debates over legalisation of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or euthanasia often warn of a "slippery slope", predicting abuse of people in vulnerable groups. To assess this concern, the authors examined data from Oregon and the Netherlands, the two principal jurisdictions in which physician-assisted dying is legal and data have been collected over a substantial period. METHODS The...

Physician-assisted Dying and the Slippery Slope: the Challenge of Empirical Evidence

Direct physician-assisted dying, typically called physicianassisted suicide by opponents and aid in dying by proponents, is of increasing salience for at least two reasons: legal evolution and changing demographics. As of this writing, physician-assisted dying has been legal in Oregon for a decade. Known as Measure 16 at the ballot box, the Death with Dignity Act (ODDA, or, in Oregon, DWDA) pas...

Physician-assisted suicide: the legal slippery slope.

BACKGROUND In Oregon, physicians can prescribe lethal amounts of medication only if requested by competent, terminally ill patients. However, the possibility of extending the practice to patients who lack decisional capacity exists. This paper examines why the legal extension of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) to incapacitated patients is possible, and perhaps likely. METHODS The author revi...

Philosophical Foundations of Physician-Assisted Death and Euthanasia Legislation in Oregon and the Netherlands: A Comparative Analysis