L30 Phil 131F Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: American Medical Association, Equal Protection Clause, Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution
12 Dec 2018
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Allows terminally ill patients to obtain a prescription for lethal drugs if the patient"s death is within six months of the request. Written request for medication to end one"s life in a humane and dignified manner. They have to make an informed decision, with counseling if needed. They can choose to inform their family or not. States cannot restrict the basic rights of any person. New york has a task force on life and the law in place. Due process clause : protects the right to refuse unwanted life saving medical treatment. Physician assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician"s role as a healer. There is a fear that permitting physician assisted suicide will be a slippery slope to permitting voluntary (or involuntary) euthanasia. Terminally ill patients are not choosing whether to live, they"re choosing how they want to die. There is a need to protect the vulnerable from coercion and abuse.
