Legalization of physician-assisted suicide: point/counterpoint.

The issues of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide have been debated in classrooms, courtrooms, medical and ethical journals, on television talk shows, and at the bedsides of patients. This article discusses in broad perspective the topic of physician-assisted suicide. The important ethical, legal, and moral issues are presented in a debate format. The presentation of the arguments is by no means exhaustive but rather reflective of current nursing, medical, and ethical journal articles published on the topic of physician-assisted suicide. An attempt has been made to balance each argument without bias, thus allowing the reader to make an individual judgment.