"In medical ethics, the principles of autonomy (ie, subjective patient self-determination) and beneficence (ie, what is believed to be objectively in the patient’s best interest) always exist in dynamic balance. One principle may be emphasized but cannot ever exclude its counterpart. Considering who should be allowed to choose [assisted suicide] thus also raises the question of which patients are objectively indicated for such death."

Kathleen Stock writes, "Poverty, undue family influence, and anxiety about being a burden to others are bound to become contributory factors in decision-making; and whatever the outcome, a tormenting sense of personal responsibility about whether to go or not will be added to an already heavy mental load."

Roger Foley and Heather Hancock share their experiences of doctors pushing assisted suicide on them instead of offering treatment and support. This report reviews documents and information that show the concerns many have with assisted suicide laws. 

"Dying is never easy, whether it is immediate, delayed, or designed. It can be even harder to watch. I have not and cannot walk in the shoes of another who has a terminal disease and wants to choose the date, time, and method of their dying process. But I have witnessed some extraordinary events occur in the final week, days, and hours of dying patients that may not have occurred in a curated death," writes Dr. Pamela Prince Pyle.

PRAF is a leading national, non-partisan single-issue organization that protects the rights of patients, people with disabilities, older adults, and other historically underrepresented groups from deadly harm and discrimination inherent in assisted suicide laws.

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