The American College of Physicians, facing the liberal judiciary and legislature trying to legalize euthanasia, has done their duty. They have produced a position statement that reiterates the classical ethical position.
To not kill.
POSITION STATEMENT
The ACP affirms a professional responsibility to improve the care of dying patients and their families.The ACP does not support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, the practice of which raises ethical, clinical, and other concerns. The ACP and its members, including those who might lawfully participate in the practice, should ensure that all patients can rely on high-quality care through to the end of life, with prevention or relief of suffering insofar as possible, a commitment to human dignity and management of pain and other symptoms, and support for families.
Physicians and patients must continue to search together for answers to the challenges posed by living with serious illness before death
Ann Intern Med. doi:10.7326/M17-0938
Most of us signed up to cure when we can, manage when we cannot cure, and comfort at all times. Killing was never on the agenda, and countries that legalize such remove protections that all, including the most vulnerable, should have.
A comment a former roommate of mine about capital punishment comes to mind; he wasn’t certain he’d like to live next to a man who earned his living as an executioner. And in this case, the executioner is simultaneously someone who ought to be earning his living offering comfort and care–it would be a two-faced executioner.