Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Practice

Abstract

Many readers of the Journal who closely follow the national debate over euthanasia and assisted suicide may find themselves wondering why there has been so little discussion of the actual clinical outcomes of attempts to help patients end lives of intractable anguish. No matter how useful the guidance of tradition, the tenets of religion, the codes of ethicists and professional societies, or even the laws of the state, the critical ingredient of examined experience is all but missing from the debate. In this issue of the Journal, Groenewoud and colleagues describe the Dutch experience with clinical problems in euthanasia and . . .