Abstract
This Note examines the legal and moral issues arising from a physician's involvement in a competent, yet terminally ill patient's suicide. Beginning with a study of judicial opinions from In re Karen Quinlan - the first reported right to die case - to the recent Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health decision, the first section discusses judicial views on the issue of a right to die, focusing primarily on how that relates to assisted suicide. The second section concentrates on physicians' ethical responsibilities, as well as their potential criminal and civil liability. The final section demonstrates a growing trend toward social and judicial acceptance of physician-assisted suicide by studying proposed legislation which would, to some extent, legalize rational suicide and legitimate the philosophies of those organizations supporting it.
How to Cite
33 Ariz. L. Rev. 677 (1991)
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