Wesley J. Smith

About the author: Wesley J. Smith is an attorney for the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force. He is the author of Culture of Death: The Destruction of Medical Ethics in America.

The experience of Oregon and the Netherlands, where assisted suicide is legal, reveals that legalizing suicide is a mistake. Once the practice is made legal, some physicians circumvent guidelines designed to protect vulnerable patients, while some patients search for a doctor who will issue a prescription for a lethal dose of medication. In addition, pressure to cut medical costs threatens to make assisted suicide more common as an alternative to prolonged medical care.

In November 1999, Congress took up the issues of pain control and physician-assisted suicide, with the House voting 271-156 to pass the Pain Relief Promotion Act. The legislation, if passed, would...