Pro

Helene Starks, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical History and Ethics at the University of Washington at Seattle, in a Jan. 5, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated:

“I believe that physician-assisted suicide should be legalized because that allows for more scrutiny and application of the safeguards. The practice is happening regardless of the legal status; keeping it illegal has the potential to cause more harm than good as it restricts access to knowledgeable social services and health care providers who may help patients and families explore other options to achieving a good death, leaving PAS [physician-assisted suicide] as truly an option of last resort.”

Jan. 5, 2007