William H.A. Carr

William H.A. Carr is the former president of the Indiana chapter of the Hemlock Society, which advocates the right of terminally ill patients to choose to commit suicide. In the following viewpoint, Carr contends that there is growing support among doctors, churches, and the public for physician-assisted suicide. Many doctors already secretly and illegally help terminally ill patients end their suffering, he maintains. Physician-assisted death should be legalized, he argues, to ensure that patients who choose to can die with dignity.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the Economist magazine, cited by Carr, what is the slippery-slope argument advanced by opponents of assisted suicide"
2. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, quoted by the author, what percentage of doctors would be willing to assist a patient’s...