Ezekiel Emanuel

Ezekiel Emanuel is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. He is also the author of The Ends of Human Life: Medical Ethics in a Liberal Polity. In the following viewpoint, he asserts that arguments in favor of physician-assisted suicide are based on misunderstandings and misinformation about the practice. Contrary to widespread belief, most people request assisted suicide because of depression and psychological distress, not pain as is commonly believed. Such patients should not be killed but rather be given psychiatric intervention and better health care, he contends. Furthermore, he asserts that in the Netherlands, permitting doctor- assisted suicide has led to the involuntary euthanasia of children and others who did not request it. Emanuel recommends that physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia should be kept illegal.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What distinctions does the...