¹ Carroll, Joseph, Public Continues to Support Right-to-Die for Terminally Ill Patients, Gallup News Service, June 19, 2006Google Scholar; Taylor, Humphrey, Poll: U.S. Adults Favor Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide, PRNewswire, Apr. 27, 2005Google Scholar.

² Ward, Lucy & Carvel, John, Four Out of Five Want to Give Doctors Right to End Life of Terminally Ill Patients in Pain, The Guardian, Jan. 24, 2007, at 9Google Scholar.

³ ERGO News List, discussion group on end-of-life (Mar. 4, 2007).

⁴ The Ottawa Citizen (Canadian daily) (July 2, 2001).

⁵ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective 70 (Groenhuijsen, Marc & van Laanen, Floris eds., 2006)Google Scholar [hereinafter Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective].

⁶ Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act, available at http://www.academiavita.org/english/AltriDocumenti/org_int/OLANDA/Testo%201egge%20olandese%20eutanasia%5B1%5D.pdf.

⁷ Jacqueline Herremans, Belgium's Legalization of Euthanasia, available at http://www.iheu.org/node/1110.

⁸ On February 19, 2008 the Parliament of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg approved the bill Errr/Huss on de-criminalization of euthanasia. While the euthanasia bill has not yet passed the second reading, it is anticipated that it will come into effect this summer, unless the parliament's opinion changes radically. See Connolly, John, Luxembourg Parliament Passes Euthanasia Bill, LifeSiteNews. Com, Feb. 20, 2008Google Scholar, available at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/O8022002.html.

⁹ Swiss Penal Code, art. 115, discusses inciting and assisting suicide and holds: “Anyone with a selfish motive who incites a person to commit suicide or who helps that person to commit suicide, if the suicide is consummated or attempted, will be punished by a maximum of five years reclusion or imprisonment.” If there is no seifish motive, assisted suicide is legal. I am grateful to EXIT A.D.M.D Suisse Romande for this information: exit@freemail.ch. Cf. http://www.bk.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/311_0/index2.html. See also http://www.exit-geneve.ch/Exitldepangl.pdf.

¹⁰ Plattner, Andrew L., Australia's Northern Territory: The First Jurisdiction to Legislate Voluntary Euthanasia, and the First to Repeal It, 1 Depaul J. Health Care L. (Spring 1997)Google Scholar.

¹¹ Death with Dignity Act, (Ballot Measure 16 (1994)) (the law came into effect in 1997), see http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas and see http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute.pdf.

¹² Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 17.

¹³ Dying Patient Law, 2005, S.H. 58.

¹⁴ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective. supra note 5, at 124.

¹⁵ Pretty v. United Kingdom. 2002-III Eur. Ct. H.R. 155, 185; see also Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 86-89.

¹⁶ See Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, Language and Reality at the End of Life, 28 J. L. Medicine & Ethics 267 (Fall 2000)Google ScholarPubMed.

¹⁷ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 55.

¹⁸ Id. at 108.

¹⁹ Id. at 161.

²⁰ Id. at 167.

²¹ Id. at 74.

²² Id. at 187.

²³ Id. at 227.

²⁴ Cf. Rachels, James, Killing and Letting People Die of Starvation, 54 Philosophy 159 (Apr. 1979)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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²⁶ Id. at 120.

²⁷ Id. at 134.

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²⁹ Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, Euthanasia in The Netherlands: The Policy and Practice of Mercy Killing ch. 1 (2004)Google Scholar.

³⁰ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 132.

³¹ Id. at 171.

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³³ Boyle, Toward Understanding the Principle of Double Effect, supra note 32 and Who Is Entitled to Double Effect?, supra note 32. See also the June 24, 1999 testimony of Dr. Walter R. Hunter before the Committee on the Judiciary, available at http://www.house.gov/judiciary/hunt0624.htm; Kamm, F.M., Physician-Assisted Suicide, the Doctrine of Double Effect, and the Ground of Value, 109 Ethics 586–91 (1999)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

³⁴ Cf: When Doctors Might Kill Their Patients, 318 BMJ 1431–32 (May 29, 1999)Google Scholar; Quill, T.E., Dresser, R. & Brock, D.W., The Rule of Double Effect —A Critique of Its Role in End-of-Life Decision Making, 337 New Eng. J. Medicine 1768 (Dec. 11. 1997)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/double-effect.

³⁵ De Bondt, Walter & Vansweevelt, Thierry, Euthanasia in Belgium, in Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 31–32Google Scholar.

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³⁸ Section 3 of the Belgian Euthanasia Law, available at http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/cbmer/viewpic. php?LAN=E&TABLE=DOCS&ID=23.

³⁹ Mortier, F., Bilsen, J., Stichele, R.H. Vander, et al. , Attitudes, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Actual End-of-Life Decisions of Physicians in Flanders, Belgium, 23 Medical Decision Making 502–10 (Nov.-Dec. 2003)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁴⁰ See Peteet, J.R., Treating Patients Who Request Assisted Suicide. A Closer Look at the Physician's Role, 3 Arch Family Medicine 723–27 (Aug. 1994)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Rosenthal, E., When A Physician Is Asked, ‘Help Me Die”, N.Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1997Google Scholar, at A1, B4.

⁴¹ Bernheim, Jan L, Deschepper, Reginald, Distelmans, Wim, Mullie, Arsène, Bilsen, Johan, Development of Palliative Care and Legalisation of Euthanasia: Antagonism or Synergy?, 336 BMJ 864 (Apr. 19, 2008)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Editor, In Belgium, Euthanasia and Palliative Care Work Together, Medical News Today, Apr. 18, 2008, available at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104629.php.

⁴² Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 45.

⁴³ Provoost, Veerle, Cools, Filip, Bilsen, Johan, et al. , The Use of Drugs with a Life-shortening Effect in End-of-life Care in Neonates and Infants, 32 Intensive Care Medicine 136 (2006)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁴⁴ Mortier, Freddy & Deliens, Luc. The Prospects of Effective Legal Control of Euthanasia in Belgium: Implications of Recent End of Life Studies, in Regulating Physician-Negotiated Death 180 (Klijn, A., Otlowski, M. & Trappenburg, M. eds., 2001)Google Scholar.

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⁴⁶ Id. at 1319. See also Doctors ‘Would Help Babies to Die,” The Evening Standard, circulated by right_to_die_2@mailman.efn.org on Apr. 8, 2005; Baby euthanasia is a reality,” Expatica Report, Apr. 11, 2007.

⁴⁷ Provoost, Veerle, Cools, Filip, Deconinck, Peter, et al. , Consultation of Parents in Actual End-of-life Decision-making in Neonates and Infants, 165 Eur. J. Pediatr. 859–66 (Dec. 2006)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. See also Provoost, V., Deliens, L., Cools, F., et al. , A Classification of End-of-life Decisions in Neonates and Infants, 93 Acta Paediatrica 1–5 (2004)Google ScholarPubMed. For critical reading, see Feudtner, Chris, Control of Suffering on the Slippery Slope of Care, 365 The Lancet 1284–86 (Apr. 9, 2005)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁴⁸ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 195.

⁴⁹ Id.

⁵⁰ Id. at 197.

⁵¹ Id. at 212.

⁵² Id. at 217. For further discussion, see Holt, Jim, Euthanasia for Babies?, N.Y. Times, July 10, 2005;Google Scholar Sheldon, Tony, Killing or Caring?, 330 BMJ, Mar. 12, 2005, at 560CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; available at http://forums.canadiancontent.net/news/35311-new-mercy-killing-rules-netherlands.html. The Groningen Protocol was introduced in the Dutch legislation in 2005, requiring that before euthanasia is performed, the child's parents and a team of physicians and social workers agree on the futility of further treatment. A waiting period of several days is required in which parents can think over the decision and say goodbye to their child. See Verhagen, Eduard & Sauer, Pieter J.J., The Groningen Protocol—Euthanasia in Severely Ill Newborns, 352 New. Eng. J. Medicine 959–62 (Mar. 10, 2005)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁵³ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, Supra note 5, at 220.

⁵⁴ Id. at 223.

⁵⁵ Id.

⁵⁶ See, e.g., Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, Reflections on the Intriguing Issue of the Right to Die in Dignity, 29 Isr. L. Rev. 677–701 (1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar and Autonomy, Life as an Intrinsic Value, and Death with Dignity, 1 Science and Engineering Ethics 261–72 (1995)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁵⁷ For an elaborated discussion, see Cohen-Almagor, Euthanasia in The Netherlands, supra note 29.

⁵⁸ Id.

⁵⁹ For deliberation on the range of what “unbearable suffering” means, see Gomez, Carlos F., Regulating Death 99–104 (1991)Google Scholar.

⁶⁰ For further discussion, see The, Anne-Mei, Pasman, Roeline, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D., et al. , Withholding the Artificial Administration of Fluids and Food from Elderly Patients with Dementia: Ethnographic Study, 325 BMJ 1326 (Dec. 7, 2002)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁶¹ Muller, Martien Tom, Death on Request 52 (1996)Google Scholar.

⁶² Keown, John, The Law and Practice of Euthanasia in the Netherlands, 108 The L. Q. Rev. (Jan. 1992)Google ScholarPubMed; Hendin, Herbert, Seduced by Death (1997)Google Scholar; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje Dorien, Consultation of Another Physician in Cases of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide (1999)Google Scholar; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D., van der Wal, Gerrit, Kostense, Piet J. & van der Maas, Paul J., Consultants in Cases of Intended Euthanasia or Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands, 170 MJA 360–63 (1999)Google ScholarPubMed; van der Wal, G., van Eijk, J. Th. M., Leenen, H.J.J. & Spreeuwenberg, C., Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. II. Do Dutch Family Doctors Act Prudently?, 9 Family Pratice (1992)Google ScholarPubMed; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Breje D., van der Wal, Gerrit, Kostense, Piet J. & van der Maas, Paul J., Consultation with Another Physician on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands, 51 Social Science and Medicine (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁶³ For deliberation, see Cuperus-Bosma, Jacqueline M., van der Wal, Gerrit and van der Maas, Paul J., Physician-assisted Death: Policy-making by the Assembly of Prosecutors General in the Netherlands, 4 Eur. J. Health L. 225–238 (1997)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁶⁴ See Cohen-Almagor, Euthanasia in The Netherlands, supra note 29.

⁶⁵ Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, The Guidelines for Euthanasia in The Netherlands: Reflections on Dutch Perspectives, 9 Ethical Perspectives 3–20 (2002)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁶⁶ Hendin reached a similar conclusion. Cf. Hendin, Herbert, Seduced by Death 100 (1997)Google Scholar. See also Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, ‘Culture of Death’ in The Netherlands: Dutch Perspectives, 17 Issues in L. & Med. 167–79 (Fall 2001)Google ScholarPubMed.

⁶⁷ Rietjens, Judith A.C., et al. , Terminal Sedation in The Netherlands, 141 Annals of Internal Med. 966–67 (Dec. 21, 2004)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Rietjens, Judith A. C., et al. , Terminal Sedation and Euthanasia. 749–53 166 Arch Intern (2006)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁶⁸ Humphrey, Derek, Terminal Sedation in Holland More Used than Euthanasia, (May 21, 2008)Google Scholar, available at http://assistedsuicide.org/blog/2008/03/21/terminal-sedation-in-holland-more-used-than-euthanasia.

⁶⁹ Vrakking, Astrid M., van der Heide, Agnes, Provoost, Veerle, et al. , End-of-life Decision Making in Neonates and Infants: Comparison of The Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders), 96 Acta Paediatrica 820–24 (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For further discussion, see Vrakking, Astrid M., van der Heide, Agnes, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D. et al. , Medical End-of-Life Decisions Made for Neonates and Infants in The Netherlands, 1995-2001, 365 The Lancet 1329–31 (Apr. 9, 2005)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁷⁰ van der Heide, Agnes, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D. et al. , End of Life Practices in the Netherlands under the Euthanasia Act, 356 New Eng. J. Medicine 1957–65 (May 10, 2007)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁷¹ Id.

⁷² Id.

⁷³ Id.; Number of Euthanasia Cases Drops, Expatica Report (May 10, 2007)Google Scholar, circulated by org.opn.listsight-to-die@lists.opn.org.

⁷⁴ Id.

⁷⁵ Id. See also 33 Magazine of Right to Die-NL (NVVE) (June 2007); Quill, Timothy E., Physician Assisted Death in Vulnerable Populations, 335 BMJ 625–26 (Sept. 2007)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁷⁶ Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, 1992, S.H. 150. An English translation of the law is available at http://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic3_eng.htm.

⁷⁷ LSI Special Volume: Penal Law 5737-1977 9 (Isr.).

⁷⁸ Patients' Rights Law, 1996, S.H. 327.

⁷⁹ Cf. Cohen-Almagor, , Language and Reality at the End of life, supra note 16, at 267–78Google Scholar.

⁸⁰ Steinberg, Avraham & Sprung, Charles L., The Dying Patient: New Israeli Legislation, 32 Intensive Care Medicine 1235 (Aug. 2006)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. Most disagreements revolved around the extent of autonomy enjoyed by patients, where committee members pressed for further autonomy on the part of the patients to request ceasing array of treatments at the end of life.

⁸¹ Cf. Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, The Patients' Right to Die in Dignity and the Role of Their Beloved People, 4 Annual Rev. L. & Ethics (1996)Google Scholar.

⁸² The Dying Patient Law, supra note 13, Definitions.

⁸³ Steinberg & Sprung, supra note 80, at 1236.

⁸⁴ Ravitsky, Vardit, Timers on Ventilators, 330 BMJ 416 (2005)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁸⁵ Kannai, Ruth & Vizel, Lea, Euthanasia in Israel, in Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 159Google Scholar.

⁸⁶ The Dying Patient Law, supra note 13, at ch. 3.

⁸⁷ World Health Organization, Cancer Pain Relief and Palliative Care: Report of a Who Expert Committee 11 (1990)Google Scholar.

⁸⁸ The Dying Patient Law, supra note 13, at ch. 4.

⁸⁹ On the different conceptions of pain that physicians and patients have, see Ruddick, William, Do Doctors Undertreat Pain?, 11 Bioethics 246–55 (1997)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. It is argued that pain control represents an often neglected need of nursing home residents, and that nursing home staff underestimate the true pain burden experienced by residents. See Teno, Joan M., Weitzen, Sherry, Wetle, Terrie & Mor, Vincent, Persistent Pain in Nursing Home Residents, 285 JAMA 2081 (Ap. 25, 2001)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁹⁰ Ganzini, Linda, Nelson, Heidi D., Schmidt, Terri A., Kraemer, Dale F., Delorit, Molly A., & Lee, Melinda A., Physicians' Experiences with the Oregon Death with Dignily Act, 342 New Eng. J. Medicine 563 (Feb. 24, 2000)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. See also Morrison, R. Sean & Meier, Diane E., Palliative Care, 350 New Eng. J. Medicine 2582–90 (June 17, 2004)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

⁹¹ The Dying Patient Law, supra note 13, at ch. 4.

⁹² Cohen-Almagor, Raphael, The Right to Die with Diginity: An Argument in Ethics, Medicine, and Law ch. 4 (2001)Google Scholar.

⁹³ The Dying Patient Law, supra note 13, at ch. 5.

⁹⁴ Id.

⁹⁵ Kannai & Vizel, supra note 85, at 164. For further deliberation, see Aminoff, Bechor Zvi, The New Israeli Law ‘The Dying Patient’ and Relief of Suffering Units, 24 Am. J. Hospice and Palliative Medicine 54–58 (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁹⁶ Kay, Richard S., Causing Death for Compassionate Reasons in American Law, in Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 261Google Scholar.

⁹⁷ U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States (1997)Google Scholar; Caralis, P.V., Davis, Bobbi, Wright, Karen & Marcial, Eileen, The Influence of Ethnicity and Race on Attitudes Toward Advance Directives, Life Prolonging Treatment, and Euthanasia, 4 J. Clinical Ethics 155, 57–59 (1993)Google ScholarPubMed and see http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute.pdf.

⁹⁸ A study released on February 25, 2008 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that 27 percent of Oregonians are unaffiliated with any religion, compared with 16% of all Americans nationally. No other state has a higher percentage of unaffiliated adults. See http://religions.pewforum.org/maps.

⁹⁹ Bates, Tom & O'Keefe, Mark, Suicide Law Reflects Oregon Politics: Voters Tend to Be Quirky But Consistent in Maverick State, Plain Dealer (Clev.), Nov. 21, 1994, at 3EGoogle Scholar.

¹⁰⁰ The Oregon Death with Dignity Act § 3.14, Or. Rev. Stat. § 127.880 (1999).

¹⁰¹ “Capable” is defined as having the ability to make and communicate health care decisions to a health care provider. See Oregon Death With Dignity Act § 1.01(3), Or. Rev. Stat. § 127.800 (1999).

¹⁰² An “adult” is an individual who is at least eighteen years of age. Oregon Death with Dignity Act § 1.01(1), Or. Rev. Stat. § 127.800 (1999).

¹⁰³ Oregon Death With Dignity Act § 3.10, Or. Rev. Stat. § 127.860 (1999). The residency requirement was intended to prevent individuals from other states from rushing to Oregon to take advantage of the Act. Clark, Annette E., Autonomy and Death, 71 Tulane L. Rev. 45 n.43 (1996)Google ScholarPubMed.

¹⁰⁴ Oregon Death With Dignity Act § 2.01, Or. Rev. Stat. § 127.805 (1999). Voluntary euthanasia occurs when an individual, usually a physician, administers a lethal drug at a patient's request, thus producing the patient's death. Orentlicher, David, Physician Participation in Assisted Suicide, 262 JAMA 1844 (1989)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹⁰⁵ Oregon Death With Dignity Act § 4.01(1), Or. Rev. Stat. 127.885 (1999). Without this provision, physicians who assisted a suicide would be civilly and criminally liable under Or. Rev. Stat. § 163.125 (1995), which makes it a crime to intentionally cause or aid another in committing suicide.

¹⁰⁶ See generally, Cohen-Almagor, The Right to Die with Dignity, Supra note 92.

¹⁰⁷ Sullivan, Amy D., Hedberg, Katrina & Fleming, David W., Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon—the Second Year, 342 New Eng. J. Medicine 598, 603 (2000)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Cohen-Almagor, Raphael & Hartman, Monica G., The Oregon Death with Dignity Act: Review and Proposals for Improvement, 27 J. Legislation 269–98 (2001)Google Scholar.

¹⁰⁸ Skidmore, Sarah, Oregon's Death with Dignity Law Reaches 10-year Milestone, Ass't Press, Oct. 26, 2007Google Scholar.

¹⁰⁹ Right to Die Listserv, Oregon Takes Stock of “Right to Die” Law (Mar. 12, 2007)Google Scholar, available at http://assistedsuicide.org.

¹¹⁰ Most bill proposals to legislate PAS in the United States specify that the age of the consenting patient must be 18 or older to qualify for the procedure. Korobkin, Russell, Physician-assisted Suicide Legislation: Issues and Preliminary Responses, 12 Notre Dame J. L. Ethics & Public Policy 454 (1998)Google Scholar.

¹¹¹ See the Dutch requirements of careful practice, in Griffiths, John, Bood, Alex & Weyers, Heleen, Euthanasia and Law in The Netherlands 66 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also ch. II. Article 3 of the Belgian Euthanasia Law, supra note 38 and the Nagoya High Court requirements in Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 189.

¹¹² Many bill proposals to legislate PAS in the United States require a waiting period of 14 or 15 days. Cf. Korobkin, supra note 110, at 468.

¹¹³ Section 7, Rights of the Terminally Ill Act (1995) (NT) (Australia).

¹¹⁴ In Australia, the law required a “cooling off” period of nine days. In Belgium, the law requires a “cooling off” period of one month. In Oregon, the Act requires a waiting period of fifteen days. I do not wish to suggest an arbitrary time period of waiting, saying instead that the patient should state his/her wish several times “over a period of time.” I concur with Miller and colleagues who think that a fifteen days waiting period may be highly burdensome for patients who are suffering intolerably and may preclude access to assisted death for those who request it at the point when they are imminently dying. See Miller, Franklin G., Brody, Howard & Quill, Timothy E., Can Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Regulated Effectively?, 24 J. Law, Medicine & Ethics 226 (1996)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. See also Oregon, Death with Dignity Act, http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute.pdf.

¹¹⁵ Griffiths, , Bood & Weyers, supra note 111, at 66Google Scholar.

¹¹⁶ Death with Dignity Act, Or. Rev. Stat., supra note 114.

¹¹⁷ See Cohen-Almagor, The Right to Die with Dignity, supra note 92.

¹¹⁸ See the November 12, 2003 issue of JAMA and http://www.pain.com; http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/pain/index.html; http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pain.

¹¹⁹ Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 39.

¹²⁰ Directive 7, 2/96 The General Manager Circular (Israel Ministry of Health) 12 (Jan. 31, 1996) holds: “Doctors must concentrate their efforts on easing the pain, torment, and suffering of the patient, a subject of highest priority in medical treatment, especially when terminal patients are concerned,” [in Hebrew] (translated R.C.-A.). Israel's Dying Patient Law includes a provision for palliative care. For further deliberation on pain control mechanisms and their importance, see Quill, Timothy E., Lo, Bernard, & Brock, Dan W., Palliative Options of Last Resort, 278 JAMA 2099–104 (Dec. 17, 1997)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Textbook of Palliative Medicine (Doyle, P. D., Hanks, G. W., & MacDonald, N. eds., 1998)Google Scholar; Quill, Timothy E., Coombs-Lee, Barbara & Nunn, Sally, Palliative Treatments of Last Resort: Choosing the Least Harmful Alternative, 132 Annals Internal Med. 488 (March 21, 2000)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. For further discussion on making palliative care decisions for incompetent patients, see Karlawish, Jason H.T., Quill, Timothy, & Meier, Diane E., A Consensus-Based Approach to Providing Palliative Care to Patients Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity, 130 Annals of Internal Med. 835–40 (May 18, 1999)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹²¹ See Oregon, Oregon Death with Dignity Act, supra note 114 at § 3.01 (1998).

¹²² Ganzini, Linda, Nelson, Heidi D., Lee, Melinda A., Kraemer, Dale F., Schmidt, Terri A. & Delorit, Molly A., Oregon Physicians' Attitudes About and Experiences With End-of-Life Care Since Passage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, 285 JAMA 2363–69 (2001)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹²³ Korobkin, supra note 110, at 469.

¹²⁴ Lavery, J. V., Boyle, Joseph, Dickens, Bernard M., Maclean, Heath, & Singer, Peter A., Origins of the Desire for Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in People with HIV-1 or AIDS: A Qualitative Study, 358 Lancet 362 (Aug. 4, 2001)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. See also Back, Anthony L. & Pearlman, Robert A., Commentary: Desire for Physician-assisted Suicide: Request for a Better Death?, 358 Lancet 344 (Aug. 4, 2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

¹²⁵ Section 7, Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, supra note 113.

¹²⁶ On this issue, see Death with Dignity Act, Or. Rev. Stat. § 3, supra note 114, attending physician responsibilities. Many bill proposals to legislate PAS in the United States specify certain information that must be communicated by the physician to the patient before honoring his/her request. Cf. Korobkin, supra note 110, at 468. See also Chap. II, Article 3 of the Belgian Euthanasia Law, supra note 38. Israel Patients' Rights Law, supra note 78 provides that the patient should be provided with all the information necessary for making informed consent.

¹²⁷ Cohen-Almagor, supra note 7, at 267-78. See also Bedell, S.E., Graboys, T.B., Bedell, E., & Lown, B., Words That Harm, Words That Heal, 163 Arch Intern Med. 1365–68 (July 12, 2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

¹²⁸ Cohen-Almagor, The Right to Die with Dignity, supra note 92, at ch. 6; Hardwig, John, Families and Futility: Forestalling Demand for Futile Treatment, 16 J. Clinical Ethics 328–337 (2005)Google Scholar.

¹²⁹ Most bill proposals to legislate PAS in the United States required that the treating physician refer the patient to a second consulting physician to verify the terminal nature of the disease. The Massachusetts bill required a third confirming opinion. Cf. Korobkin, supra note 111, at 453. See also Chap. II, Article 3 of the Belgian Euthanasia Law, supra note 38.

¹³⁰ Oregon Death with Dignity Act, http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/docs/statute.pdf The American Medical Association's council on ethical and judicial affairs suggests the participation of consultants to facilitate discussions that would help the parties reach a course of action. AMA strongly objects to PAS. See Charatan, Fred, AMA Issues Guidelines on End of Life Care, 318 BMJ 690 (Mar. 13, 1999)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹³¹ Griffiths, Bood & Weyers, supra note 112, at 66 & 104.

¹³² Section 7, Rights of the Terminally Ill Act, supra note 113.

¹³³ Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje, Consultation of Another Physician in Cases of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide 91 (1999)Google Scholar.

¹³⁴ Sheldon, Tony, Netherlands Sets Up Euthanasia Advisory Body, 318 Brit. Medical J. 348 (Feb. 6, 1999)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹³⁵ In this context, for further discussion see Deschepper, Reginald, et al. Communication on End-of-life Decisions with Patients Wishing to Die at Home: the Making of a Guideline for General Practitioners in Flanders, Belgium, 56 Brit. J. General Practice 14–19 (Jan. 1, 2006)Google Scholar, available at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1828069.

¹³⁶ Proposals to legislate PAS in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maine required that a patient seeking PAS obtain a consultation with a mental health professional in order to insure that the patient can pass the “impaired judgment” standard. Cf. Korobkin, supra note 110, at 456. This Guideline is somewhat similar to the guidelines of the Swiss EXIT protocol.

¹³⁷ Plattner, supra note 10, at 648.

¹³⁸ 13 Or. Rev. Stat. § 3.07 (1998).

¹³⁹ Chamber of the Representatives of Belgium, Government Bill Related to Euthanasia (Nov. 5, 2001)Google Scholar, Doc 5014488/001, project transmitted by the Senate, available at http://www.kuleuven.ac.be/cbmer/viewpic.php?LAN=E&TABLE=DOCS&ID=23

¹⁴⁰ See the Nagoya High Court requirements, in Euthanasia in International and Comparative Perspective, supra note 5, at 189.

¹⁴¹ Cf. Groenewoud, Johanna H., van der Heide, Agnes, Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D., et al. , Clinical Problems with the Peformance of Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide in the Netherlands, 342 New Eng. J. Med. 551–56 (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

¹⁴² Directive 6, 2/96 The General Manager Circular (Israel Ministry of Health) 12 (Jan. 31, 1996) states: “The decision to respect a patient's objection to a life prolonging treatment shall be documented in the medical statutes, expressing maximum reasons for the decision and the discussions with the patient,” [in Hebrew] (translated R.C.-A.). See also Israel Patients' Rights Law, supra note 78, at 331, Chapter E: medical documentation and medical information. In addition, Israel's Dying Patient Law, supra note 13 includes a provision for detailed documentation.

¹⁴³ For further deliberation, see Bilsen, Johan, Bauwens, Marc, Bernheim, Jan, et al. , Physician-Assisted Death: Attitudes and Practices of Community Pharmacists in East Flanders, Belgium, 19 Palliative Medicine 151–57 (2005)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.

¹⁴⁴ Plattner, supra note 10, at 648.

¹⁴⁵ For further deliberation, see Caplan, Arthur L., Snyder, Lois, & Faber-Langendoen, Kathy, The Role of Guidelines in the Practice of Physician-Assisted Suicide, 132 Annals of Internal Medicine 476–81 (Mar. 21, 2000)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed; Frileux, S., Lelièvre, C., Sastre, M. T. Muñoz, Mullet, E., & Sorum, P. C., When Is Physician Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia Acceptable?, 29 J. Medical Ethics 330–36 (Dec. 1, 2003)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.