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I am glad to see that in the ongoing debate on this subject the word
"physician" seems to have slipped silently away.
It is for society in its wisdom to decide whether to support assisted
suicide or not but why should the physical act of assistance in this case
have to involve a doctor.
Strict criteria would have to be introduced to ensure that people who
wished to die were mentally able to discern the implications of their
decision and this would presumably involve a psychiatric opinion. But why
not have a register of "suicide assistants" who would be prepared to help
people kill themselves. I can not see the need for a medical degree to be
a prerequisite for being on such a register as patient safety is not an
issue here.
Why Physician Assisted Suicide?
I am glad to see that in the ongoing debate on this subject the word
"physician" seems to have slipped silently away.
It is for society in its wisdom to decide whether to support assisted
suicide or not but why should the physical act of assistance in this case
have to involve a doctor.
Strict criteria would have to be introduced to ensure that people who
wished to die were mentally able to discern the implications of their
decision and this would presumably involve a psychiatric opinion. But why
not have a register of "suicide assistants" who would be prepared to help
people kill themselves. I can not see the need for a medical degree to be
a prerequisite for being on such a register as patient safety is not an
issue here.
Competing interests: No competing interests