TY - JOUR
T1 - Assisted suicide and euthanasia
AU - Franklin, Cory
AU - Coppens, Myriam
AU - Spielberg, Theodore E.
AU - Patrick, J.
AU - Cavagnaro, Charles E.
AU - O'brien, Daniel L.
AU - Sheehan, Myles N.
AU - Cassel, Christine K.
AU - Meier, Diane
PY - 1991/5/16
Y1 - 1991/5/16
N2 - To the Editor: Although there may be situations in which physician-assisted suicide is ethically acceptable (an arguable proposition to begin with), the law must not be seen to sanction conduct such as occurred in the back of Dr. Kevorkian's van (Sept. 13 issue).* This is especially true if one considers the publicity Kevorkian received, including interviews on prime-time television and front-page pictures of his suicide machine in the country's leading newspapers. The implications of encouraging suicide in the impressionable and depressed (and those who are not terminally ill) are obvious. Even in the Netherlands, where physicians may avoid prosecution.
AB - To the Editor: Although there may be situations in which physician-assisted suicide is ethically acceptable (an arguable proposition to begin with), the law must not be seen to sanction conduct such as occurred in the back of Dr. Kevorkian's van (Sept. 13 issue).* This is especially true if one considers the publicity Kevorkian received, including interviews on prime-time television and front-page pictures of his suicide machine in the country's leading newspapers. The implications of encouraging suicide in the impressionable and depressed (and those who are not terminally ill) are obvious. Even in the Netherlands, where physicians may avoid prosecution.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0025811195&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1056/NEJM199105163242011
DO - 10.1056/NEJM199105163242011
M3 - Letter
C2 - 2020302
AN - SCOPUS:0025811195
SN - 0028-4793
VL - 324
SP - 1434
EP - 1437
JO - New England Journal of Medicine
JF - New England Journal of Medicine
IS - 20
ER -