(NRO) – After much pressure to go cowardly neutral on legalizing euthanasia, like a few other weak-kneed medical associations have, the World Medical Association has joined the AMA and reaffirmed its strong opposition to doctors killing patients. From the “Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide:”
The WMA reiterates its strong commitment to the principles of medical ethics and that utmost respect has to be maintained for human life. Therefore, the WMA is firmly opposed to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
The WMA also supports medical conscience rights to refuse all complicity and participation in killing patients in jurisdictions where it is legal — contrary to advocacy among prominent bioethicists and a pernicious court ruling in Ontario, Canada:
No physician should be forced to participate in euthanasia or assisted suicide, nor should any physician be obliged to make referral decisions to this end. CONTINUE