Position Statement on Physician-Assisted Death

Abstract

In the past year, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Board of Directors charged the Academy's Ethics Committee with updating our positions on a number of topics, and the board recently approved and published position statements on artificial hydration and nutrition, palliative sedation, and physician-assisted death, as well as statements on palliative care research, quality palliative care, and palliative care accreditation.

AAHPM supports intense efforts to alleviate suffering and to reduce any perceived need for physician assisted death (PAD). The Board of Directors respects the beliefs and opinions of all members and does not suggest that physicians or healthcare providers be forced to deliver care they see as harmful or wrong. We want all patients to continue to receive the best possible palliative care, whatever decisions are made regarding PAD.

Situations in which patients or their surrogates request physician assisted death (PAD) are particularly challenging for physicians and other healthcare providers because they raise significant clinical, ethical, and legal issues. Deep disagreement persists about the morality of PAD, and sincere, compassionate, and morally conscientious individuals stand on both sides of this debate.

Rather than take a position of one side or the other, the Board's position of “studied neutrality” is intended to stimulate thinking and discussion about how best to respond to the urgent needs of the few dying patients who continue to suffer despite expert palliative care.

Key Words:

• Physician-assisted death
• Amercian Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)