Simon is correct.1 In fact, we raised this question in our article (in Box 1).2 Creating a new profession of “death assistants” would be one way to assuage the moral and ethical concerns of physicians who conscientiously object to assisting a death, or who are concerned that this will undermine the physician–patient relationship. However, we think there are good reasons for the medical profession to be involved, should assisted death become legal.
We note that four countries and five US states have made assisted death legal without creating a new profession. A 2013 Canadian Medical Association poll suggested that 16% to 20% of physicians would be willing to assist a death,3 which would likely be sufficient to meet the anticipated demand. Data from Oregon suggest that physicians who opposed legalization of assisted death were more than twice as likely to have a patient become upset or leave their practice than physicians who supported assisted death.4
We must always respect the right of individual physicians to conscientiously object. But assigning assisted death to another profession would be necessary only if physicians unanimously object, which is clearly not the case. Saying no to legal physician-assisted death as a professional body, rather than as individual conscientious objectors, would arguably fail to support the well-being of individual patients who would choose physician-assisted death as the primary ethical consideration.