Physician-assisted suicide and older patients' perceived duty to die.

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) may soon be legal in the United States. The legal option of PAS will place certain hardships on older persons. Many older individuals may feel a duty to die to avoid becoming a burden to their families. Moreover, the suicide option becomes attractive because medical care at the end of life is often fragmented, impersonal, and unable to meet the needs of the dying individual. To make suicide less attractive, nurses must help restructure the care of the dying to help meet their needs and reduce the burdens of caregivers.