Questionable Popularity Of Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide

Questionable Popularity of Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide A survey of U.S. oncologists suggests that support for euthanasia and assisted suicide in this profession has declined dramatically in recent years. The survey polled 3299 members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 1998. It found 22.5% support for physician-assisted suicide for a terminally ill patient with prostate cancer in unremitting pain, compared to 45.5% support in 1994. Euthanasia in this situation was supported by 6.5%, compared to 22.7% in 1994. Surgical oncologists were more likely to support these practices; Catholics, those who view themselves as religious, and those who say they have sufficient time to talk to dying patients about end-of-life care were less likely to do so. Those who oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide are also less willing to increase the dose of morphine for a patient who has unremitting pain despite previous pain relief efforts. This reticence, they note, probably reflects fear that increasing opioid dose increases the risks for respiratory depression and death and might be construed as a form of euthanasia. This view may be encouraged by proponents of euthanasia who have argued that there is no difference between increasing morphine for pain relief and euthanasia. The authors urge increased efforts to educate physicians on the ethical and legal acceptability of increasing narcotics for pain control, even at the risk of respiratory depression andShow MoreRelatedLgbt19540 Words   |  79 PagesHeteronormativity * LGBT stereotypes * Queer * Religion and homosexuality * Religion and transgender | Prejudice / Violence | * AIDS stigma * Biphobia * Genderism * Heterosexism * Homophobia * Lesbophobia * Binarism * Sexualism * Suicide among LGBT youth * Transphobia * Violence against LGBT people * LGBT trafficking | Academic fields and discourse | * LGBT/Queer studies * Lesbian feminism * Queer theory * Transfeminism * Lavender linguistics | LGBT portal