Biomaterial Database

Models of physician-assisted dying. 1996

F Girsh

Repeated surveys have shown that more than 70% of Americans support physician aid in dying for terminally ill mentally competent adults. Recent polls of physicians in Oregon and Michigan demonstrate majority support of those doctors for such a law while 25% of physicians surveyed in Washington admitted to already providing help. Models of how that would work have been spelled out in proposed legislation in the United States since 1988, other models come from the Northern Territory in Australia, from Holland, and from Jack Kevorkian's writing and actions as well as from other writers such as Dr Timothy Quill.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012297	Right to Die	The right of the patient or the patient's representative to make decisions with regard to the patient's dying.	Death with Dignity,Dignity, Death with
D017236	Suicide, Assisted	Provision (by a physician or other health professional, or by a family member or friend) of support and/or means that gives a patient the power to terminate his or her own life. (from APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed).	Assisted Suicide,Death, Assisted,Medically Assisted Suicide,Physician-Assisted Suicide,Medically Assisted Suicides,Suicide, Medically Assisted,Suicides, Medically Assisted,Assisted Death,Assisted Deaths,Assisted Suicides,Deaths, Assisted,Physician Assisted Suicide,Physician-Assisted Suicides,Suicide, Physician-Assisted,Suicides, Assisted,Suicides, Physician-Assisted
D017410	Practice Guidelines as Topic	Works about directions or principles presenting current or future rules of policy for assisting health care practitioners in patient care decisions regarding diagnosis, therapy, or related clinical circumstances. The guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by the convening of expert panels. The guidelines form a basis for the evaluation of all aspects of health care and delivery.	Clinical Guidelines as Topic,Best Practices,Best Practice
D033101	Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary	Active euthanasia of a patient at the patient's request and/or with the patient's consent.	Euthanasia, Voluntary,Voluntary Euthanasia