profession

Anti-suicide law bars doctor-aided death, Connecticut court rules

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 21, 2010

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

A Connecticut judge in June ruled that the state law criminalizing assisted suicide also bars physicians from prescribing life-ending medication to terminally ill patients who request them.

Connecticut internists Gary Blick, MD, and Ronald M. Levine, MD, sued the state's attorney general last fall, arguing that Connecticut's criminal statute on assisted suicide should not apply to doctor-aided deaths.

Though the state statute does not explicitly bar physicians from aiding in deaths, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Julia Aurigemma wrote in her opinion dismissing the case that the law "is aimed at precisely the situation presented by the plaintiffs -- aiding a terminally ill patient, in unbearable pain, to end his or her own life -- and precisely the situation in which physicians are most likely to participate."

The physicians and their counsel, from the Portland, Ore.-based Compassion & Choices, which favors legal access to physician-assisted suicide, are considering whether to appeal the ruling.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/06/21/prbf0621.htm.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn