Physician-Assisted Death: A Slippery Slope or the Ultimate Patient Autonomy?

Does the right to life does include a right to choose the time and place of one’s own death? In the United States at the present time, seven states—California, Colorado, Oregon, Hawaii, New Jersey, Vermont, and Washington—and the District of Columbia have laws permitting physician-assisted death (PAD). There is also one state, Montana, where the practice is legal by way of a court ruling. Such end-of-life options are likely under consideration in many other jurisdictions. Recently, it has come under consideration in New York, this writer’s state.