Doctors admit to assisting death
More than one third of Victorian doctors have admitted to administering lethal drugs after being asked to help patients die, according to a new study.
And while the profession is sharply divided over whether voluntary euthanasia should be legalised, most doctors accept they have helped quicken the death of patients in some way.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, found 76% of doctors had withdrawn or withheld life-sustaining treatment when asked. At a patient’s request, 35% had given drugs with the intention of hastening death.
Nearly all believed they had made the right decision. However, there was also significant disagreement about the definition of what constituted euthanasia.
The study involved 854 Victorian doctors and was conducted by researchers from Wollongong and Melbourne.
