This statement replaces the HOD Resolution P97, the Association’s former Position Statement on Care at the End of Life, which was retired in March 2024 by the HOD.
The Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) does not take a position on Medical Aid in Dying (MAID). PALTmed recognizes the diversity of perspectives on MAID among members, and of the various state laws regulating MAID. PALTmed also recognizes that we care for a vulnerable population, and these issues and decisions are fraught with ethical challenges for patients, clinicians, and institutions.
Members navigating these challenges, and the changing legal landscape may find the following resources and references helpful. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular resource does not indicate an endorsement from PALTmed.
Statement on Physician-Assisted Dying: American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, (June 24, 2016), available at: https://aahpm.org/positions/pad
American Psychological Association (2017). Resolution on Assisted Dying. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/policy/assisted-dying-resolution
American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics: Opinion 5.7 and Opinion 1.1.7; 5.7.pdf (ama-assn.org) and AMA-Code Homepage (ama-assn.org)
American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying, www.acamaid.org
Compassion & Choices, https://compassionandchoices.org/
Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997, https://www.congress.gov/bill/105th-congress/house-bill/1003
Meisel A, et al., The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decisionmaking, (3rd ed 2020)
Kaufman P.S., Death with Dignity: A Medical-Legal Perspective, AHLA Long-Term Care and the Law Meeting (Feb.22, 2017)
Bauer C., Dignity in Choice: A Terminally Ill Patient’s Right to Choose, 44 Mitchell Hamline L. Rev. 1024 (2018)
Weithorn L.A., Psychological Distress, Mental Disorder, and Assessment of Decision Making Capacity Under U.S. Medical Aid in Dying Statutes, 71 Hastings L.J. 637 (2020)