The American Medical Association Has Long Opposed Assisted Suicide, but Is That About to Change?

The American Medical Association's (AMA) longstanding policy of opposing physician-assisted suicide may take a new turn when the AMA House of Delegates debates and votes on whether the association's Code of Medical Ethics should be amended, reports the Washington Post . "The reality is there are many more doctors in the AMA, but also outside the AMA, who have changed their minds about this," says New York University School of Medicine Professor Art Caplan. Although doctors, delegates, and others showed continued support for the status quo in an open forum on the AMA's website, public surveys indicate many Americans believe doctors should be allowed to help terminally ill persons end their lives. Supporters contend that physician-assisted death should be a choice for people who are already dying and want to end their suffering on their own terms, while opponents argue such assistance violates the profession's core tenet of doing no harm. Colorado delegate Lynn Parry says she will vote to reject the position of the AMA's ethics council to remain neutral, and ask it to spend more time "looking at what protections for physicians, and particularly for care recipients, would need to be in place" for the AMA to revise its guidance. "How we look at the universe is really driven by our personal belief system and, in large part, by our philosophies and religious beliefs, and that's as it should be," she notes.