Hastened death in ALS: Damaged brains and bad decisions?

Currently, 1 of every 6 Americans resides in a state where physician-assisted suicide/hastened death is legal, a denominator that appears to be shrinking.1 In 2015, fully half of state legislatures considered legalization of hastened death practices.1 These statistics are particularly relevant to neurologists who care for patients afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Hastened death interest among patients with ALS has been repeatedly reported both in the United States and in Western Europe, exceeding that of patients with other terminal illnesses by 2- to 10-fold.2–4 Among physicians who care for patients with ALS, a substantial majority of surveyed American Academy of Neurology members residing in lawful physician assisted suicide jurisdictions endorse the concept that hastened death is an ethically permissible action in terminally ill patients (J.A. Russell for the Ethics, Law and Humanities Committee [a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, and Child Neurology Society], unpublished survey, 2014). It is plausible, however, that the conscience of those physicians who might otherwise morally endorse hastened death, and who might accede to the request of their dying patients by their own participation, could waver with the knowledge that their patient's judgment and decision-making capacity were adversely influenced by their disease.
Source: Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Depression EDITORIALS Source Type: research