Exam 7: Should People Have the Choice to End Their Lives

Termination of life-sustaining treatment is not homicide, suicide, or assisted suicide according to court decisions.

Older people who commit suicide are more likely to have recently visited their primary health care provider than to have received mental health services.

Which state was the first in the United States to make physician-assisted suicide legal?

How would legalized mercy killing affect the doctor-patient relationship, according to Kass? Do you agree or disagree with his position? Explain.

The majority of older people do not feel sad or unhappy most of the time.

McKhann prefers to use which of the following terms to describe the person who wishes to die and asks for help?

Among older persons, clinical depression is the most important cause of suicide.

Kass argues that defining categories of "euthanizable" people is a fairly easy and straightforward task.

Because of the wish to control the timing and circumstance of one's death, some dying patients will continue to desire assisted death even if they are receiving excellent palliative end-of-life care.

In your judgment, in Aunty's story, is Woodman arguing in favor of or against physician-assisted death? Explain.

Why do some people seek physician-assisted death? How can clinicians best understand older persons' complex experiences around serious illness, dying and death?

According to Kass, the reasons that are advanced to support physician-assisted death represent which school(s) of medical ethics?

Pearlman and Starks argue that health care providers can best serve patients by focusing on the single factor motivating them to seek physician-assisted death.

What is the Patient Self-Determination Act and how has it assisted people in making end-of-life decisions?

There are differences in the rates of diagnosis and treatment for depression for community dwelling older adults who are members of ethnic minority groups.

Recent polls by Harris and Gallup reveal that a majority of people believe that adults diagnosed with terminal illnesses should not have a right to a peaceful death through medical means.

The first important "right-to-die" law was passed with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act.

Explain McKhann's arguments in favor of physician-assisted dying. Do you agree or disagree with McKhann? Explain.

"Assisted suicide" is defined as:

In your opinion, should physician-assisted suicide be legalized? Explain.