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Letters

Why physician-assisted death?

Jessica Simon
CMAJ July 08, 2014 186 (10) 778; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.114-0047
Jessica Simon
Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta.
Roles: Palliative physician
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I am concerned that Downar and colleagues1 don’t challenge the assumption that physicians would be the assistants in assisted death. Why assume that doctors could best safeguard and operationalize assisted death?

Causing death has been the antithesis of medicine to this point in history. Physicians have no greater training or particular skill set in this area (e.g., rating existential distress, judging capacity to choose death, living with potential personal distress from causing death) than philosophers, lawyers, soldiers or executioners. Why aren’t we asking whether legalized assisted death would be best served by a new profession of licensed death assistants?

Allowing natural death, caring always, these are parts of the physician’s role. Add intentionally causing death to that and we risk altering the meaning of medicine and the fundamental trust and relationship between physicians and patients.

Reference

    1. Downar J,
    2. Bailey TM,
    3. Kagan J,
    4. et al
    . Physician-assisted death: time to move beyond Yes or No. CMAJ 2014;186:567–8.

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