Physician desire for euthanasia and assisted suicide: Would physicians practice what they preach?

Purpose: Euthanasia is a pressing public issue. We sought to assess how frequently physicians could perceive of a desire for euthanasia themselves and whether they would be willing to provide patients the same interventions. Methods: We interviewed 355 randomly selected oncologists the United Stares and interviewed them about their attitudes and practices related to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Results: Of the 355 oncologists, 48.1% could imagine a situation in which they might desire euthanasia or assisted suicide for themselves. Oncologists who were Catholic and more religious were significantly less likely to desire these interventions far themselves. Of those oncologists who could imagine a situation in which they might desire euthanasia or assisted suicide for themselves, 85.8% found euthanasia and/or assisted suicide acceptable for their patients. Of the oncologists who could not imagine a situation in which they might desire euthanasia or assisted suicide for themselves, 41.7% still found these interventions ethical for their patients. Only 6.8% of oncologists could imagine a situation in which they might desire euthanasia. or assisted suicide for themselves but found these interventions unacceptable for their patients. Conclusion: Almost half of surveyed oncologists could image a situation in which they would desire euthanasia or assisted suicide. However, in many cases, this was for nonterminal illness which would be prohibited by proposed laws. When physicians desire euthanasia or assisted suicide for themselves, they ore willing to provide these interventions for their patients; therefore, most physicians would practice what they preach. Indeed, when they deviate, oncologists overwhelmingly respect patient autonomy rather than impose their own views on patients. (C) 1997 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.