Doctor-Assisted Suicide in New York

Lawsuit Seeks to Legalize Doctor-Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill Patients in New York

by Anemona Hartocollis  Feb. 3, 2015, New Yuork Times

This is a good article that reviews the topic well.  The author makes the point that "aid in dying" is a better term than "doctor-assisted suicide."  It's worth keeping as a reference.   The work of Dr. Timothy Quill is discussed.

A group of doctors and terminally ill patients are asking New York courts to declare that doctor-assisted suicide is legal and not covered by the state’s prohibition on helping people take their own lives.

Under longtime interpretations of state law, a doctor who helps a terminally ill patient die by providing a fatal dose of medication can be prosecuted under the manslaughter statute, which covers anyone who “intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide.”

The plaintiffs argue that because doctors are already allowed to help terminally ill patients die in some circumstances, such as when they remove life support, the fact that they cannot hasten death for other terminally ill patients violates the equal protection clause of the State Constitution.

Assisted suicide — advocates prefer the term “aid in dying” — is legal in only a few states, including Montana, Washington, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.

 

Sara Myers, one of the patients, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She uses a wheelchair. Her arms are paralyzed, her breathing and talking are compromised, and though she can still swallow, she has to be fed.

Ms. Myers, 60, did not know precisely when she might want help dying. “The line in the sand is constantly moving,” she said in an interview. But she added, “Knowing you have a choice means you don’t have to use it.”