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Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs; Richard J. McMurray, MD; Oscar W. Clarke, MD; John A. Barrasso, MD; Dexanne B. Clohan; Charles H. Epps, Jr, MD; John Glasson, MD; Robert McQuillan, MD; Charles W. Plows, MD; Michael A. Puzak, MD; David Orentlicher, MD, JD; Kristen A. Halkola; Anita K. Schweickart

JAMA. 1992;267(16):2229-2233.

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

OVER the last 50 years, people have become increasingly concerned that the dying process is too often needlessly protracted by medical technology and is consequently marked by incapacitation, intolerable pain, and indignity. In one public opinion poll, 68% of respondents believed that "people dying of an incurable painful disease should be allowed to end their lives before the disease runs its course."¹ A number of comparable surveys indicate similar public sentiment.²

Since the turn of the century, there has been a dramatic shift in the places where people die. Sixty years ago, the vast majority of deaths occurred at home. Now most people die in hospitals or long-term care facilities. Approximately 75% of all deaths in 1987 occurred in hospitals and long-term care institutions,³ up from 50% in 1949,61% in 1958, and 70% in 1977.⁴ This transition from the privacy of the home to medical institutions . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
American Medical Association; Flint, Mich, Chair; Gallipolis, Ohio, Vice Chair; Casper, Wyo; Arlington, Va; Washington, DC; Durham, NC; Kansas City, Mo; Anaheim, Calif; Arlington, Va; Chicago, Ill, Secretary and staff author; Chicago, Ill, Associate Secretary and staff author; Chicago, Ill, Staff Associate and principal staff author

From the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill.

Footnotes
This report is an abridged version of Report B adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association at the 1991 Annual Meeting.

Reprint requests to the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, American Medical Association, 515 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610 (David Orentlicher, MD, JD).

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