Robert T. Hall

In the following viewpoint, Robert T. Hall contends that withdrawing life-sustaining treatments from dying patients is a common, legal, and painful method of physician-assisted suicide. However, Hall asserts, many terminally ill patients who wish to end their suffering are not undergoing life-sustaining treatment and therefore would require more assistance from their doctor, such as a drug overdose. In such cases, physician-assisted suicide is an ethical and humane course, he argues, and the practice should be legalized. Hall is a professor of sociology and philosophy at West Virginia State College in Institute and the author of several books and articles on morality and ethics.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are two common criticisms of physician-assisted suicide, according to Hall?
2. In the author’s opinion, what policies would ensure that physician-assisted suicide is employed...