Massachusetts Medical Society ends opposition to physician-assisted suicide, adopts neutral stanceBy Laura Crimaldi GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 02, 2017
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/12/02/massachusetts-medical-society-decide-whether-doctors-should-help-dying-end-their-lives/GtVH8TuY1IebcMmltEoy4M/story.html
JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFFDr. Roger Kligler of Falmouth reacted to the vote. Society members viewed a projection of proposed language changes. Kligler, a Falmouth physician suffering from metastatic prostate cancer, supported the resolution.WALTHAM — The Massachusetts Medical Society voted Saturday to end its longstanding opposition to physician-assisted suicide and adopted a neutral stance on what it now calls “medical aid-in-dying.â€
The society’s governing body approved the changes in separate votes. Delegates voted 151 to 62 to retract the policy opposing physician-assisted suicide. The provision establishing a neutral position on medical aid-in-dying passed by a margin of 152 to 56 votes.
Terminology played a key role in the group’s debate over the issue. The policy that was rescinded used the term physician-assisted suicide, language that is opposed by many in favor of allowing doctors to help patients with terminal illness end their lives at the time of their choice.
In a separate vote, the society agreed on a definition for medical aid-in-dying that encompasses the possibility that Massachusetts physicians could one day be authorized to write prescriptions for lethal doses of medication to help the terminally ill die when they see fit.
The definition notes that the practice would have to be legalized before it could be recognized as a way to care for the terminally ill. The policy notes that physicians would not be required to prescribe lethal doses of medication to the terminally ill if it violates their ethical beliefs.
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