Euthanasia proponents are focusing efforts to legalize the practice on states where doctors’ opinions appear to be changing, the Washington Post reported Jan. 26.
The Massachusetts Medical Society recently became the 10th chapter of the American Medical Association (AMA) to vote to move to a neutral stance on the issue, despite the AMA’s continued opposition to euthanasia.
In another key battleground state, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians recently endorsed a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to request medication for aid in dying.
Although it is under increasing pressure to change its position, the AMA continues to consider assisted suicide “fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.”
But nationwide, 57 percent of doctors now support assisted suicide, up from 46 percent in 2010.
The practice is legal in 10 states, most recently adopted in California and Colorado. According to the Post story, the leading suicide advocacy group, Compassion & Choices, has targeted New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts in its legalization efforts.
