Natural Disaster and Euthanasia

October 5, 2006

Medscape has a four-part roundtable discussion addressing the question “Could Disaster Conditions Ever Justify Euthanasia?”
A Bright Line by Robert W. Donnell, MD

I believe that our profession must apply moral absolutes in matters of life and death.

Eliminate Suffering, Not the Patient by Pennie Marchetti, MD

We have to ask exactly whose suffering is being most alleviated by choosing euthanasia. It isn’t, after all, a choice that requires superhuman effort on the part of the caregiver. It doesn’t require sacrifice, or even much inconvenience.

A Simple Case Against Killing by Roy M. Poses, MD

History suggests that physicians who convince themselves that they can ethically kill patients are on a very steep and slippery slope.

Looking for Answers by Robert M. Centor, MD

I cannot answer these questions. None of us can truly answer these questions. We do not know what we would do under extreme conditions.