A Very Slippery Slope

November 6, 2012

Finally, a New York Times op-ed worth reading,“Suicide by Choice? Not So Fast” by Ben Mattlin, is actually worth reading and then rereading.  The article addresses two issues.  Issue number one, legalizing assisted suicide in terminally ill patients, and, number 2, the subtle forces that might turn such a practice into a house of horrors.

Mattlin states, “There are solid arguments in favor. No one will be coerced into taking a poison pill, supporters insist. The “right to die” will apply only to those with six months to live or less. Doctors will take into account the possibility of depression. There is no slippery slope.”  Are you as sure as Mattlin that there is no slippery slope?  I’m not.  I have often heard that the majority of what Medicare will spend on an individual is spent in the last 90 days of life.  Terminating a life 6 months early will certainly help balance the budget.  Might external pressure be placed on the terminally ill patient to self-terminate for the sake of his family or society?

Further, the author states, “I’ve lived so close to death for so long that I know how thin and porous the border between coercion and free choice is, how easy it is for someone to inadvertently influence you to feel devalued and hopeless — to pressure you ever so slightly but decidedly into being “reasonable,” to unburdening others, to “letting go.”

I have always been impressed by how wrong doctor’s proclamations regarding length of life have been.  I think the best thing a physician can tell you is that you have 3 months to live.  There is an old Yiddish saying, “Man plans, G-d laughs!”  I think G-d laughs a lot when docs predict their patient’s life span and grants them extra time to prove the doc wrong.  My last patient that was told he had 3 months to live by a specialist is still alive 2 years later.

While I believe in a patient’s right to die with dignity, I think we are on a very slippery slope.  We should all be very careful that we don’t slide right into an early grave.

Dr Segal blogs at www.livewellthy.org