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James T. D'Olimpio, MD
Hospice Care of Long Island, Inc Westbury, NY

JAMA. 1995;274(24):1911.

	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.

—I read, with dismay, the article by Ms Alpers and Dr Lo¹ that characterized Oregon's physician-assisted suicide law as a "bold experiment." Chillingly, it ratifies this act as a fait accompli that physicians need to accept by cooperating in compiling relevant empirical data on such a practice.

As a clinician trained in medical oncology and as a medical director of a hospice program in New York, I believe physicians should take an active stance against this practice. It should not be accepted as a reality, as the authors do so dispassionately. Such detached language by these authors completely misses the point as to why this law is unworkable and ultimately impossible to regard with any degree of professional respect, integrity, and relevance.

Improving care of terminally ill patients requires a degree of medical expertise and compassion and a clinical knowledge base most physicians simply do not . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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