Right-to-Die Bills Defeated in More Than 28 States.

Scott Gottlieb, Right-to-Die Bills Defeated in More Than 28 States, 171 W. J. C; MED. 274 (1999).

During the past two years, in more than twenty-eight states, no bill proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) has been successful, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Three states -- Michigan, South Carolina, and Virginia -- even took the extra step of passing new bans on the practice. In total, at least forty-five states have outlawed PAS.

The high profile of these measures may produce general benefits for terminally ill patients. "Time after time, actions to ban assisted suicide or to reaffirm existing bans have been followed by advances and improvements in pain control," said Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy...