For further material on this issue, see the excellent site “Health Professionals Say No“, which as well as providing a long list of health professionals who oppose euthanasia, also links to a set of resources for further study. And for a recent UK paper exploring the meaning of “dignity” in this context, see the report Dignity at the End of Life: What’s Beneath the Assisted Dying Debate? from the Theos Institute. (Thanks to Dr Megan Best for these extra resources.) There is also an excellent recent piece here, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: Why Neutrality by Organized Medicine Is Neither Neutral Nor Appropriate” (2 May 2018, Journal of General Internal Medicine) arguing for health professionals to continue to actively oppose  Physician Assisted Suicide. These comments from the front page of the first website noted above summarise the issues very well:

We believe that crossing the line to intentionally assist a person to suicide would fundamentally weaken the doctor-patient relationship, which is based on trust and respect. The power of the clinician/patient relationship cannot be over-estimated. It is proven the desire to die diminishes dramatically when appropriate care and support is provided. We are especially concerned with protecting vulnerable people who can feel they have become a burden to others, and are committed to supporting those who find their own life situations a heavy burden. We believe such laws would undermine the public perception of the dignity and value of human life in all its different stages and conditions. There is strong evidence to the inherent lack of safety and proven abuses where physician assisted suicide and euthanasia laws exist. Government focus should be on the compassionate and equitable provision of Social Services, Health Care and Palliative Care toward maintaining and protecting the dignity and lives of those with illness, age or disablement. There is still much to be done to address social, medical and mental health inequity and in our society. Doctors and Healthcare Professionals are not necessary for the legalisation or practice of assisted suicide. Their involvement is being sought only to provide a cloak of medical legitimacy. Doctors, nurses and allied health professionals focus should be on saving lives and providing real care and support for those who are suffering.

  This article has been reproduced from Neil Foster's website: click here to read the original. For more articles on assisted suicide on this website, see: 5 Chilling Examples of Euthanasia's Slippery Slope Dying Without Dignity Disability and Assisted Suicide: A Lethal Combination? Sixty-Six Steps to Assisted Dying What Disability Advocates are Saying About Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide and 'Bracket Creep' Good Suicide vs Bad Suicide