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Don C. Shaw
Hemlock of Illinois Chicago

JAMA. 1988;259(14):2096.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—Hemlock of Illinois is grateful to JAMA for publishing "It's Over, Debbie."¹ In so doing, JAMA has contributed substantially to the dialogue on the important and unresolved issue of physician aid-in-dying.

The Debbie story is the opposite of what the Hemlock Society espouses. It is also the perfect story for what those supporting the right to life perceive as the dangers of legalizing physician aid-in-dying.

We condemn the Debbie case as both illegal and unethical, both by present law and ethics and by the law we hope to achieve in the near future. The Hemlock Society firmly believes in legalized physician aid-in-dying only when it conforms to the following requirements:

1. There must be adequate legal documentation that the euthanasia was requested by the patient well in advance of its occurring.
   
2. The physician who aids the patient in dying must have known the patient and must have
   

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