Death and Dignity — A Case of Individualized Decision Making

The following is a classic article about "assisted suicide" which appeared 24 years ago in the New England Journal of Medicine.  It is still a "keeper."

Death and Dignity — A Case of Individualized Decision Making

by Timothy E. Quill, M.D.

 N Engl J Med 1991; 324:691-694  Full Text PDF

"Diane was feeling tired and had a rash. A common scenario, though there was something subliminally worrisome that prompted me to check her blood count. Her hematocrit was 22, and the white-cell count was 4.3 with some metamyelocytes and unusual white cells. I wanted it to be viral, trying to deny what was staring me in the face. Perhaps in a repeated count it would disappear. I called Diane and told her it might be more serious than I had initially thought — that the test needed to be repeated and that if she felt worse, we might have to move quickly. When she pressed for the possibilities, I reluctantly opened the door to leukemia. Hearing the word seemed to make it exist. "Oh, shit!" she said. "Don't tell me that." Oh, shit! I thought, I wish I didn't have to."

See also:

Doctor Says He Gave Patient Drug to Help Her Commit Suicide

By Lawrence K. Altman, Special to The New York Times

Published: March 7, 1991

Rochester, March 6— In a rare disclosure, a Rochester doctor has told how he prescribed the barbiturates that a 45-year-old female patient needed to kill herself after she refused treatment for a severe form of leukemia.