Flashcards on Bioethics of Physician-Assisted Suicide
Bioethics of Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Deep Dive for Students
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Physician-assisted suicide Ethics & Policy
62 cards
Card 1
Question: What does adopting a 'neutral' stance on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) politically imply according to the text?
Answer: Neutrality implies 'We are not opposed,' which functions as a political green light and represents a substantive shift from opposition to acceptance.
Card 2
Question: Why does the text argue that professional neutrality on PAS is not logically required when some members practice PAS legally?
Answer: Because legality of a practice among some members (like capital punishment participation in some states) does not force a profession to adopt neutrali
Card 3
Question: What ethical responsibility do professions have regarding public stances on issues central to their work?
Answer: Professions have a positive ethical responsibility to take public stances defining the ethical parameters of their practice within the public sphere,
Card 4
Question: What are the three main arguments in favor of legalizing PAS outlined in the text?
Answer: 1) Respect for patient autonomy (control over how/when to die). 2) Duty of medicine to relieve suffering (PAS as merciful means). 3) The distinction b
Card 5
Question: Why does the text claim respect for autonomy alone is insufficient to justify PAS?
Answer: Autonomy is relational and must be weighed against beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, the internal rationality of medicine, and the common good; i
Card 6
Question: How does the text critique the combination of autonomy and duty to relieve suffering as justification for PAS?
Answer: It argues that the suffering motivating PAS requests is often subjective (loss of autonomy, fear of being a burden) and thus the argument essentially
Card 7
Question: What concern does the text raise about physicians' qualifications to implement PAS laws?
Answer: Many eligibility criteria in PAS laws are personal, interpersonal, and subjective rather than medical, and physicians may not be qualified to make tho
Card 8
Question: What stance did the California Medical Association take in 2015 regarding physician aid in dying (End of Life Option Act)?
Answer: It changed stance and took a neutral position on the End of Life Option Act (June 2, 2015).
Card 9
Question: Which U.S. jurisdictions had laws or actions related to medical aid in dying mentioned in the content?
Answer: California (End of Life Option Act), Colorado (medical aid in dying passed 2016), Washington D.C. (Death with dignity bill and later allowed terminall
Card 10
Question: Which major U.S. medical organizations issued positions or actions related to physician-assisted suicide in the referenced material?
Answer: American Medical Association (Resolution 015 to study aid-in-dying), American College of Physicians (position paper against legalization), American Ac