Regulating Physician-Assisted Suicide in Hospice Care: A Call for Protections

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish stringent reporting regulations designed to guard against discrimination and undue influence in physician-assisted suicide within hospice care. These representatives underscore the necessity for robust protections for vulnerable populations, including older adults and individuals with disabilities, who may face coercion from caregivers.

Senator James Lankford emphasized the importance of keeping hospice as a space for care and comfort, rather than a setting where patients may feel pressured into assisted suicide. Alongside Senators Tim Kaine, Greg Murphy, and Jose Luis Correa, Lankford called on both HHS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to vigilantly monitor potential biases and the denial of life-sustaining treatments in favor of assisted suicide options. They stress the need for compliance with federal bans on using federal funds for physician-assisted suicide and identifying discriminatory practices by insurance providers, such as offering suicide medication instead of necessary medical care.

Despite the ban on federal funding for medically assisted suicide, the practice is legal in 13 states and the District of Columbia, applicable to terminally ill adults with an anticipated death within six months who are capable of self-administering the medication. Lawmakers expressed concerns that state laws might imply to individuals with disabilities that their lives are undervalued, as highlighted in their correspondence. Moreover, they are worried about the adequacy of witness requirements in protecting elderly patients from financial exploitation by those who might profit from the patient's death through insurance or inheritance. Notably, research from Aging With Dignity reveals that since 1997, at least 14,446 Americans have died through physician-assisted suicide.