Does Physician-Assisted Suicide Promote Liberty and Compassion?

Abstract

Discussions about the permissibility of suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia raise fundamental questions about people’s rights, duties, and the meaning of life. Although the issues raised in this debate have been remarkably consistent over the centuries, the contemporary debate seems unique in that many defenders assume that physicians must play a central role in authorizing these procedures. This is evident in the very title of the current debate: should physician-assisted suicide be permitted. Yet the justification for physician-assisted suicide can be examined separately from that of assisted suicide, and I restrict my concern to examining two frequently used arguments that physicians and only physicians should have the authority to assist suicide. These arguments are that physician-assisted suicide will first, promote people’s liberty and second, foster compassion. I argue that these arguments fail on empirical grounds and because more effective and less contentious means could achieve the same ends.