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03/01/2004: "Assisting Physician-Assisted Suicide"
I was reading an interesting article over the weekend in one of the psychiatric trade papers, the Psychiatric Times. The premise of the article, titled The Case Against Physician-Assisted Suicide: For the Right to End-of-Life Care, is that the more physicians are skilled and knowledgeable in palliative care and pain control, the less likely they are to endorse euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
The article captured my interest as a social and public policy issue, but I didn't think it would be relevant to psychologists, as it is medical doctors who would be supplying or adminstering medication that would bring on death. But toward the end of the article, this case example was presented:
"Lucas, an Oregon patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attempted suicide. Paramedics were called to her house, but her children sent them away, explaining, 'We couldn't let her go to the ambulance. They would have resuscitated her.'
"Lucas survived her attempt and was assisted in suicide 18 days later by a physician who gave interviews about the case to an Oregon newspaper on condition of anonymity. He stated that after talking with attorneys and agreeing to help aid Lucas in her death, he asked her to undergo a psychological examination. 'It was an option for us to get a psychological or psychiatric evaluation,' he told the newspaper. 'I elected to get a psychological evaluation because I wished to cover my ass. I didn't want there to be any problems.'
"The doctor and the family found a cooperative psychologist who asked Lucas to take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Because it was difficult for Joan to travel to the psychologist's office, her children read the true-false questions to her at home. The family found the questions funny, and Joan's daughter described the family as 'cracking up over them.' Based on these test results, the psychologist concluded that whatever depression Joan had was directly related to her terminal illness--a completely normal response. His opinion is suspect, the more so because while he was willing to give an opinion that would facilitate ending Joan's life, he did not feel it was necessary to see her first."
Regardless of your position on this issue, I think you have to be shocked at how this situation unfolded. Anyone care to count the number of ethical violations?
The article is worth reading in its entirety. The author obviously has a position on the issue, but the information on how assisted suicide is handled in the Netherlands and Oregon are definitely useful to know.
