Vacco v. Quill
- PMID: 12041285
Vacco v. Quill
Abstract
KIE: The U.S. Supreme Court held that the terminally ill do not have a right to physician-assisted suicide under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. constitution. A New York prohibition on assisted suicide did not on its face treat the terminally ill who could hasten death by ending life support differently from those terminally ill who were not on life support. The Court reasoned that all competent persons are entitled to refuse life-sustaining treatment and no one is permitted to assist a suicide. The Court also noted as important the distinction between assisted suicide and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, a distinction recognized by both the medical and legal professions.