![]() First, medical aid in dying remains illegal in 49 jurisdictions. Nevertheless, there are several reasons medical aid in dying is often not an available alternative for terminally ill cancer patients when their dying process becomes unbearable. 2 In short, medical aid in dying has proven to be a valuable end-of-life option for some patients. Thousands more never ingested the medication yet still benefited from knowing that it was available to them. Since 1998, thousands have hastened their deaths through medical aid in dying. Decades of robust data show that many terminally ill patients with cancer in the United States have welcomed this choice. Nearly 80% of patients using medical aid in dying qualify for the assistance because of malignant neoplasms, especially of the breast, colon, pancreas, and prostate. ![]() The rapid expansion of authorized medical aid in dying over the past 3 years (doubling from four to eight jurisdictions) is especially relevant to oncologists. Most recently, in April 2018, Hawaii joined California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state, and Washington, DC, to affirmatively legalize medical aid in dying. Eight jurisdictions in the United States now permit physicians to write a life-ending prescription for terminally ill patients with decision-making capacity and allow patients to self-ingest the drug to end their lives. Safeguard against potential legal jeopardy.ĭUE TO FREQUENT and widely publicized state legislative committee hearings and voter ballot initiatives across the country, the most conspicuous legal option for terminally ill patients to gain physician assistance in dying is in Death With Dignity, or medical aid in dying, laws, which allow physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients. Explores the legal and ethical issues oncologists must be aware of in this era of precision medicine and changing health-care policy, both to protect patients’ rights and to
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