I used to be the risk manager for the hospice service line of the large multi-state healthcare system. I am perfectly fine with the concept of patient autonomy up to and including assisted suicide. I have gone to the professional seminars about it here in Washington, and the majority of people who choose this option are educated, have family support and were accustomed to making their own decisions their entire lives. I am told that the Oregon results are pretty much the same.
Having had to do the staff debrief for my hospice nurses after which they walked into a home where the patient put a gun in their mouth because assisted suicide was not an option, I would prefer the option.
