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Derek Humphry
The National Hemlock Society Los Angeles World Federation of Right to Die Societies

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.

—If the physician who helped Debbie to die¹ had acted as he did in Holland now, or in America in the future when the Humane and Dignified Death Act is passed, he would be prosecuted.

Dutch rules, and the proposed act in the United States, are clear that a request to be helped to die must be in writing and must have been carefully considered. Also, two physicians must agree that the patient is dying. The family must be informed but cannot veto the patient's wishes.

You have done a service to both the medical profession and patients by publishing this essay and demonstrating in at least one instance how poorly hospitals handle such requests for euthanasia.

Incidentally, 20 mg of morphine is not likely to be a fatal dose. My guess is that it put the poor young woman into a sleep, during which she . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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