Assisted Suicide: A Disability Perspective

Issues in Law and Medicine

Volumn 14, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 273-300

  Burgdorf Jr , Robert L ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 1990; ARTICLE; ASSISTED SUICIDE; CRUZAN V. DIRECTOR, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; DEATH AND EUTHANASIA; DISABLED PERSON; GOVERNMENT; GOVERNMENT REGULATION; HUMAN; JURISPRUDENCE; LEGAL ASPECT; MCKAY V. BERGSTEDT; MEDICAL ETHICS; MENTAL STRESS; NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY; PATIENT ADVOCACY; PERSONAL AUTONOMY; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUALITY OF LIFE; REHABILITATION ACT 1973; RESOURCE ALLOCATION; SOCIOECONOMICS; STATE V. MCAFEE; TREATMENT OUTCOME; UNCERTAINTY; UNITED STATES; VACCO V. QUILL; WASHINGTON V. GLUCKSBERG;

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 1990; CRUZAN V. DIRECTOR, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; DEATH AND EUTHANASIA; MCKAY V. BERGSTEDT; NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY; REHABILITATION ACT 1973; STATE V. MCAFEE; VACCO V. QUILL; WASHINGTON V. GLUCKSBERG;

DISABLED PERSONS; ETHICS, MEDICAL; FEDERAL GOVERNMENT; GOVERNMENT REGULATION; HUMANS; MEDICAL FUTILITY; PATIENT ADVOCACY; PERSONAL AUTONOMY; QUALITY OF LIFE; RESOURCE ALLOCATION; STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL; SUICIDE, ASSISTED; SUPREME COURT DECISIONS; UNCERTAINTY; UNITED STATES; VALUE OF LIFE;

EID: 0032240609     PISSN: 87568160     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (88)

1. David Orentlicher, M.D., J.D., "The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide," New Eng. J. Med. 335: 663, 665 (Aug. 29, 1996).
2. No. 95-1858, Oct. Term, 1996 [117 S. Ct. 2293 (1997)].
3. No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996 [117 S. Ct. 2258, 2293 (1997)].
4. 497 U.S. 261 (1990).
5. No. 95-1858, Oct. Term. 1996 [117 S. Ct. 2293 (1997)].
6. Quill v. Vacco, 80 F.3d 716 (2d Cir. 1996).
7. Id. at 729.
8. No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996 [117 S. Ct. 2258, 2293 (1997)].
9. National Hospice Association, "Hospice in Brief" at p. 1.
10. Id.
11. National Hospice Association, "Hospice Fact Sheet" at p. 1 (Jan. 1, 1997).
12. Id. at p. 2, citing a 1995 study by Lewin-VHI and a 1988 study conducted by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).
13. For a good overview and additional information about hospice programs, see, e.g., Larry Beresford, The Hospice Handbook (1993).
14. "Report of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Barrier-Free Design," 26 Int. Rehab. Rev. 3 (1975).
15. State v. McAfee, 385 S.E.2d 651 (Ga. 1989).
16. McKay v. Bergstedt, 801 P.2d 617, 624-35 (Nev. 1990).
17. Id. at 637.
18. Id. at 628.
19. 42 U.S.C. §12101(a)(2).
20. Id. §12101(a)(7).
21. Id. at §12101(a)(2).
22. U.S. Comm'n on Civil Rights, Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 35-36 (1983).
23. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 17-42, 159; Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 295-96, 286 (quoting 117 Cong. Rec. 45,974 (1971) (statement of Rep. Vanik); 118 Cong. Rec. 526 (1972) (statement of Sen. Percy)) (1985); S. Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1989); H.R. Rep. No. 485, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. pt. 2, at 32 (1990) (Education and Labor Committee) [hereinafter Education & Labor Committee Report]; Task Force on the Rights & Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Equality for 43 Million Americans with Disabilities: A Moral and Economic Imperative 8 (1990), quoted in Education & Labor Committee Report, at 31-32; Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 70, 75 (1986);
24. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 17-42, 159; Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 295-96, 286 (quoting 117 Cong. Rec. 45,974 (1971) (statement of Rep. Vanik); 118 Cong. Rec. 526 (1972) (statement of Sen. Percy)) (1985); S. Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1989); H.R. Rep. No. 485, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. pt. 2, at 32 (1990) (Education and Labor Committee) [hereinafter Education & Labor Committee Report]; Task Force on the Rights & Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Equality for 43 Million Americans with Disabilities: A Moral and Economic Imperative 8 (1990), quoted in Education & Labor Committee Report, at 31-32; Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 70, 75 (1986);
25. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 17-42, 159; Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 295-96, 286 (quoting 117 Cong. Rec. 45,974 (1971) (statement of Rep. Vanik); 118 Cong. Rec. 526 (1972) (statement of Sen. Percy)) (1985); S. Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1989); H.R. Rep. No. 485, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. pt. 2, at 32 (1990) (Education and Labor Committee) [hereinafter Education & Labor Committee Report]; Task Force on the Rights & Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Equality for 43 Million Americans with Disabilities: A Moral and Economic Imperative 8 (1990), quoted in Education & Labor Committee Report, at 31-32; Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 70, 75 (1986);
26. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 17-42, 159; Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 295-96, 286 (quoting 117 Cong. Rec. 45,974 (1971) (statement of Rep. Vanik); 118 Cong. Rec. 526 (1972) (statement of Sen. Percy)) (1985); S. Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1989); H.R. Rep. No. 485, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. pt. 2, at 32 (1990) (Education and Labor Committee) [hereinafter Education & Labor Committee Report]; Task Force on the Rights & Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Equality for 43 Million Americans with Disabilities: A Moral and Economic Imperative 8 (1990), quoted in Education & Labor Committee Report, at 31-32; Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 70, 75 (1986);
27. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 17-42, 159; Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 295-96, 286 (quoting 117 Cong. Rec. 45,974 (1971) (statement of Rep. Vanik); 118 Cong. Rec. 526 (1972) (statement of Sen. Percy)) (1985); S. Rep. No. 116, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 9 (1989); H.R. Rep. No. 485, 101st Cong., 2d Sess. pt. 2, at 32 (1990) (Education and Labor Committee) [hereinafter Education & Labor Committee Report]; Task Force on the Rights & Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, Equality for 43 Million Americans with Disabilities: A Moral and Economic Imperative 8 (1990), quoted in Education & Labor Committee Report, at 31-32; Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 70, 75 (1986);
28. Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey II: Employing Disabled Americans 12 (1987); City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 454 (Stevens, J., joined by Burger, C.J., concurring) (1985); id. at 461, 462 (Marshall, J., joined by Brennan & Blackmun, JJ., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
29. Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey II: Employing Disabled Americans 12 (1987); City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 454 (Stevens, J., joined by Burger, C.J., concurring) (1985); id. at 461, 462 (Marshall, J., joined by Brennan & Blackmun, JJ., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
30. See, e.g., 29 U.S.C. §§ 701(a)&(b), 706(20), 706(30), 796a(1), 796d(a), 796c(a)(2); 42 U.S.C. §§ 8013(4), 12101(a)(8).
31. Accommodating the Spectrum, supra n. 23, at 83-84, (quoting Timothy M. Cole, "What's New About Independent Living?" 60 Arch. Physical Med. & Rehab. 458-62 (1979)).
32. Center for Independent Living, "Independent Living: The Right to Choose," in Disabled People as Second-Class Citizens 248 (Eisenberg, Griggins, & Duval eds., 1982) (quoted in Accommodating the Spectrum, supra n. 23, at 84).
33. Gini Laurie, "Independent Living Programs," 22 Rehabilitation Gazette 9-11 (1979) (quoted in Accommodating the Spectrum, supra n. 23, at 83).
34. See, e.g., Accommodating the Spectrum, supra n. 23, at 85, and authorities cited therein.
35. Gerben DeJong, "Independent Living: From Social Movement to Analytic Paradigm," 60 Arch. Physical Med. & Rehab. 435-46 (1979) (quoted in Accommodating the Spectrum, supra n. 23, at 85).
36. Id. §701(a)(3), as amended by Pub. L. No. 102-569, tit. I, §101, 106 Stat. 4346 (1992).
37. Id. §701(a)(6), as amended by Pub. L. No. 102-569, tit. I, §101, 106 Stat. 4346 (1992).
38. U.S. Comm'n on Civil Rights, Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities 26 (1983).
39. School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273, 284-85 (1987).
40. 29 C.F.R. 406 (app. to pt. 1630) (commentary on §1630.2(1)) (1993) (can prove discrimination "by demonstrating that the exclusion was caused by one of the 'common attitudinal barriers' toward individuals with disabilities such as an employer's concern about productivity, safety, insurance, liability, attendance, cost of accommodation and accessibility, workers' compensation costs, and acceptance by coworkers and customers"); Wooten v. Farmland Foods, 58 F.3d 382, 385 (8th Cir. 1995) (the "regarded as" prong of the definition of disability encompasses "archaic attitudes, erroneous perceptions, and myths"). Several ADA decisions have recognized employers' "myths, fears and stereotypes associated with disabilities." See, e.g., Freund v. Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., 930 F.Supp. 613, 618 (S.D.Ga. 1996); EEOC v. Texas Bus Lines, 923 F.Supp. 965, 975 (S.D.Tex. 1996); Howard v. Navistar Internat'l Transp. Corp., 904 F.Supp. 922, 929-30 (E.D.Wis. 1995); Pritchard v. Southern Company Services, 1995 WL 338662, 4 AD Cases 465, 473 (N.D.Ala. 1995); Lussier v. Runyon, 1994 WL 129776, 3 AD Cases 223, 231 (D.Me. 1994); Scharff v. Frank, 791 F.Supp. 182, 187 (S.D.Oh. 1991) ("stereotypical treatment").
41. Robert L. Burgdorf Jr., The Legal Rights of Handicapped Persons: Cases, Materials, and Text 8 (1980).
42. Louis Harris & Assocs., The ICD Survey of Disabled Americans: Bringing Disabled Americans into the Mainstream 55 (1986).
43. Id. at 46, Table 19.
44. Id. at 42.
45. Id. at 42 (only 7% of persons with disabilities say that their disability has a negative effect on their ability to, or interest in, having children).
46. See, e.g., J.R. Bach & M.C. Tilton, "Life Satisfaction and Well Being Measures in Ventilator Assisted Individuals with Traumatic Tetraplegia," 75 Arch. Physical Med. & Rehab. 626 (1994).
47. Paul Steven Miller, The Impact of Assisted Suicide on Persons with Disabilities - Is It A Right Without Freedom? Issues in Law & Med. 9:47, 54 (1993).
48. See, e.g., Joanne Lynn, et al., "Accurate Prognostications of Death: Opportunities and Challenges for Clinicians," 163 W.J.Med. 250, 251 (1995).
49. Richard A. Posner, Aging and Old Age 245 (1995).
50. Evan J. Kemp Jr., "Could You Please Die Now?: Disabled People Like Me Have Good Reason to Fear the Push for Assisted Suicide," Washington Post C1 (Jan. 5, 1997).
51. In re Quinlan, 355 A.2d 647 (N.J. 1976).
52. National Council on Disability, Achieving Independence: The Challenge for the 21st Century 19 (1996).
53. See, e.g., Gerben DeJong, Independent Living: From Social Movement to Analytic Paradigm 39, 50-51 (Robert P. Marinelli & Arthur E. Dell Orto, eds., 1984).
54. Id. at 52-53.
55. Douglas Biklen, "The Myth of Clinical Judgment," J. of Social Issues Vol. 44: 127, 128 (1988).
56. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
57. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
58. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
59. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
60. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
61. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
62. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
63. See, e.g., Erving Goffman. Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Garden City, N.J.: Anchor Books; Thomas S. Szasz. 1961. The Myth of Mental Illness. New York: Harper and Row; Thomas S. Szasz. 1970. The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement. New York: Dell; R.D. Laing. 1967. The Politics of Experience. New York: Pantheon Press; Ethan Fromm. 1970. The Crisis of Psychoanalysis. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; E. Fuller Torrey. 1975. The Death of Psychiatry. New York: Penguin Books; John Gliedman & William Roth. 1980. The Unexpected Minority: Handicapped Children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 144-47. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
64. Bonnie Milstein & Steven Hitov. 1993. "Housing and the ADA." In Lawrence O. Gostin & Henry A. Beyer, eds. Implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act: Rights and Responsibilities of All Americans 137, 145-46. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
65. DeJong, supra note 47, at 52.
66. Gerben DeJong and Raymond Lifchez, "Physical Disability and Public Policy," Scientific American 248: 41, 45 (1983).
67. David Orentlicher, M.D., J.D., "The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide," New Eng. J. Med. 335: 663, 664 (Aug. 29, 1996), citing Y. Conwell & E.D. Caine, "Rational Suicide and the Right to Die - Reality and Myth," New Eng. J. Med. 325: 1100-03 (1991).
68. David Orentlicher, M.D., J.D., "The Legalization of Physician Assisted Suicide," New Eng. J. Med. 335: 663, 664 (Aug. 29, 1996), citing Y. Conwell & E.D. Caine, "Rational Suicide and the Right to Die - Reality and Myth," New Eng. J. Med. 325: 1100-03 (1991).
69. Paul Steven Miller, "The Impact of Assisted Suicide on Persons with Disabilities - Is It A Right Without Freedom?" Issues in Law & Med. 9:47, 58 (1993).
70. See, e.g., J.R. Bach & M.C. Tilton, "Life Satisfaction and Well Being Measures in Ventilator Assisted Individuals with Traumatic Tetraplegia," 75 Arch. Physical Med. & Rehab. 626 (1994); Ezekiel J. Emmanuel, Diane L. Fairclough, Elisabeth R. Daniel, & Brian R. Clarridge, "Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide: Attitude and Experiences of Oncology Patients, Oncologists, and the Public," Lancet 347: 1805-10 (1996).
71. See, e.g., J.R. Bach & M.C. Tilton, "Life Satisfaction and Well Being Measures in Ventilator Assisted Individuals with Traumatic Tetraplegia," 75 Arch. Physical Med. & Rehab. 626 (1994); Ezekiel J. Emmanuel, Diane L. Fairclough, Elisabeth R. Daniel, & Brian R. Clarridge, "Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide: Attitude and Experiences of Oncology Patients, Oncologists, and the Public," Lancet 347: 1805-10 (1996).
72. Knight Ridder/Tribune, "AMA to Teach Doctors to Aid the Dying," Chicago Tribune p. 1A10 (Dec. 13, 1996); Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners in Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, Oct. Term, 1996 at p. 9 (referring to "health care system that often undertreats patients' pain"; Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners in State of Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996, at p. 19 ("inadequately treated pain").
73. Knight Ridder/Tribune, "AMA to Teach Doctors to Aid the Dying," Chicago Tribune p. 1A10 (Dec. 13, 1996).
74. Id.
75. AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, Code of Medical Ethics: Current Opinions § 2.20 (1989), cited in Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners in State of Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996, at p. 17.
76. In the related context of discontinuance of life-prolonging treatment for patients totally unable to make the decisions themselves, some courts have required various procedural safeguards. See Superintendent of Belchertown v. Saikewicz, 370 N.E.2d 417 (Mass. 1977) (required approval in court proceeding with appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the patient); In re Quinlan, 355 A.2d 647 (N.J. 1976) (required combined agreement of the attending doctors, the family, and hospital review panel).
77. Franklin G. Miller, Timothy E. Quill, Howard Brody, John G. Fletcher, Lawrence O. Gostin, & Diane E. Meier, "Regulating Physician Assisted Death," New Eng. J. Med. 331: 119-122 (July 14, 1994).
78. Report of Chairman Charles T. Canady to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 104 Cong., 2d Sess., p. 6 (Sept. 1996). In 1986, the Royal Dutch Medical Association published "Guidelines for Euthanasia," that established five criteria: "voluntariness," "a well considered request," "persistent desire for death," "unacceptable suffering," and "collegial consultation." Id. at 8, quoting Jürgen Wöretshofer & Matthias Borgers, "The Dutch Procedure for Mercy Killing and Assisted Suicide by Physicians in a National and International Perspective," Maastricht J. of European and Comparative Law 2:2, 7 (1996).
79. Report of Chairman Charles T. Canady to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 104 Cong., 2d Sess., p. 6 (Sept. 1996). In 1986, the Royal Dutch Medical Association published "Guidelines for Euthanasia," that established five criteria: "voluntariness," "a well considered request," "persistent desire for death," "unacceptable suffering," and "collegial consultation." Id. at 8, quoting Jürgen Wöretshofer & Matthias Borgers, "The Dutch Procedure for Mercy Killing and Assisted Suicide by Physicians in a National and International Perspective," Maastricht J. of European and Comparative Law 2:2, 7 (1996).
80. Report of Chairman Charles T. Canady to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 104 Cong., 2d Sess., p. 6 (Sept. 1996). In 1986, the Royal Dutch Medical Association published "Guidelines for Euthanasia," that established five criteria: "voluntariness," "a well considered request," "persistent desire for death," "unacceptable suffering," and "collegial consultation." Id. at 8, quoting Jürgen Wöretshofer & Matthias Borgers, "The Dutch Procedure for Mercy Killing and Assisted Suicide by Physicians in a National and International Perspective," Maastricht J. of European and Comparative Law 2:2, 7 (1996).
81. Report of Chairman Charles T. Canady to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 104 Cong., 2d Sess., p. 11 (Sept. 1996).
82. Id. at p. 1.
83. Brief for Amici Curiae, Gay Men's Health Crisis et al. in Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, and State of Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996, at p. 15.
84. See, e.g., Ezekiel J. Emmanuel, Diane L. Fairclough, Elisabeth R. Daniel, & Brian R. Clarridge, "Euthanasia: Physician Assisted Suicide: Attitude and Experiences of Oncology Patients, Oncologists, and the Public," Lancet 347: 1805-10 (1996) (cancer patients enduring pain not inclined to want euthanasia or assisted suicide).
85. One author has observed that, as health care costs increase, while funding for health care and supportive programs is restricted, "assisted suicide becomes a more cost-effective, expedient, and ultimately socially acceptable option." Paul Steven Miller, "The Impact of Assisted Suicide on Persons with Disabilities - Is It A Right Without Freedom?" Issues in Law & Med. 9:47, 54, 56 n. 33 (1993).
86. See gen. Report of Chairman Charles T. Canady to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, 104 Cong., 2d Sess., (Sept. 1996).
87. See, e.g., Brief for Amici Curiae, Gay Men's Health Crisis et al. in Vacco v. Quill, No. 95-1858, and State of Washington v. Glucksberg, No. 96-110, Oct. Term, 1996, at p. 15.
88. For the Council's proposals as to how America might better afford people with disabilities opportunities for independence, dignity, self-sufficiency, and full participation, see National Council on Disability, Achieving Independence: The Challenge for the 21st Century (1996).