Page 25 - Delaware Medical Journal - July-August 2018

1 We are physicians and took an oath
to do no harm. Assisted suicide
is a slippery slope and we are not
ready for it. Immunity from legal repercussions and other details must
be carefully thought out before we 6 would consider embarking on this
course — some segments of our
society may be ready, but not all, 7 for this issue. The representative is
putting us at odds with our mission, something I am concerned about.
Another example of legislation
dictating the practice of medicine.
2 Thank you for opportunity to provide 8 a voice opposing this legislation.
3 Are palliative outpatient services available for people who don’t have a terminal illness?
4 I understand MSD’s position, but I think there are circumstances that should allow people to end their lives with dignity.
Thanks for speaking clearly on behalf of life and we who have dedicated
our lives to the betterment of and protection thereof.
I am a retired family MD and do not approve of physician-assisted suicide.
I think the title “Physician-Assisted

the wrong impression. There are, and should be, ways for physicians to assist in a patient’s death wishes, under the right circumstances.
Patients who qualify for this plan of care are suffering and are not imminentlydying(i.e.hospiceuse) but are not having a quality to what is their life. Trapped.

possible. Physicians should be permitted to assist their patients in attaining this goal.
11 I suspect that exposure and training in medical school with regard to palliative care and hospice care remains limited. End of life should be an interdisciplinary, team approach to our patients. We all have so much to learn about palliative care and how to assist our patients and their families through end-of-life decisions long before it is time to actually make those decisions.
12 Ibelievethattherearemany physicians who are divided on
this issue. Not just the ethical dilemma of approving a process
for hastening the death of a patient but the feeling of compassion for the suffering of terminally ill patients. While I believe a physician organization should not be viewed as supporting death, I also believe the organization should understand how physicians may feel the
most compassionate way to care
OPINION
Physician-Assisted Suicide: MSD Members Weigh In
The comments below were either submitted by MSD members who responded to question 9 of the Physician-Assisted Suicide Survey or through a second opportunity to comment sent to MSD members after the initial survey closed.
9 Physicians need to be more engaged with patients as death approaches. Patients need more education on hospice and we need to understand why some families have a poor impression of hospice.
5
I can to protect human life from the 10 time of conception to natural death.
Individuals should have the right to end their suffering in the most
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