As the issue of assisted dying continues toward more expanded legal
standing, we shift our primary focus from questions of patients'
rights to the largely overlooked challenges that face physicians who
elect to assist patients in ending their lives. Dr. Howard Grossman, a
Manhattan internist and plaintiff in the unsuccessful New York lawsuit
to the Supreme Court (Vacco v. Quill), came forward to say,
“Anybody who has done it knows that it is a tremendous decision
that you carry with you forever.”1 We focus our
attention on the psychological experience and philosophical conflicts
faced by physicians engaged in physician-assisted dying (PAD). Based on
those potential conflicts, we argue for a new model of the physician
and patient relationship in assisted dying: a medical friendship.We wish to express our most sincere
appreciation to all the physicians who spoke so openly and generously
about what can only be described as profound and life-altering
experiences with dying patients. We also wish to thank the Section of
Philosophy and Medical Ethics of the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center
(Professor Evert van Leeuwen, Ph.D., Chair) for consenting to serve as
the host institution for this study. This project was also made
possible by a generous grant from the Research Foundation of the
Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New
York.