AMA reaffirms opposition to assisted suicide

Good. Would have been VERY bad if they hadn't.

Despite a concerted effort by euthanasia advocates, the American Medical Association has voted to retain its long-standing opposition to assisted suicide. The AMA affirmed CEJA 2, the report which recommended that the AMA retain its opposition to assisted suicide. The vote was 65-35, a huge margin of victory for doctors who want the AMA to continue treating patient, not killing them.

The vote is notable because the AMA is one of the largest medial organizations in the country, and medical societies are influential when it comes to legislators making policy decisions and in shaping public opinion.

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“We applaud the American Medical Association for maintaining their longstanding opposition to physician-assisted suicide. In doing so, the AMA sides with patients and people with disabilities who would be at risk for deadly harm through mistakes, coercion, and abuse, all the while carefully guarding the trust upon which the patient-physician relationship is based,” he said.

Vallière added: “Patients deserve care and protection, not a prescription for death. We trust that this decision will encourage states considering legislation to continue to reject assisted suicide.”

The AMA policy states:

It is understandable, though tragic, that some patients in extreme duress–such as those suffering from a terminal, painful, debilitating illness–may come to decide that death is preferable to life. However, allowing physicians to participate in assisted suicide would cause more harm than good. Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.

In the past year, CEJA has deliberated twice and concluded both times that the current AMA policy on assisted suicide should be maintained.