The Bozeman Montana Daily Chronical, on "Trust."
The Bozeman Montana Daily Chronical
Dear Editor:
I am a doctor in Portland Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. I disagree with Karen Renne, that legal assisted suicide promotes doctor-patient "trust." ["Trust doctors with end-of-life care," June 30, 2010]. With Oregon's law now in effect, people with serious illnesses are sometimes fearful of the motives of doctors. For example, a patient with bladder cancer contacted me. She was concerned that an oncologist might be one of the "death doctors." She questioned his motives-particularly when she obtained a second opinion from another doctor, which was more sanguine about her prognosis and treatment options. Whether one or the other doctor was correct, such fears were NEVER an issue before assisted suicide was legalized. I urge you to think about assisted-suicide beyond the marketing rhetoric. What these laws really do is empower doctors and others to kill people without consequence. Hence the fear of my above described patient. I urge you to reject assisted suicide. William L. Toffler MD Professor of Family Medicine