A Dearth of Protocols to Address Lawful Physician-Hastened Death

More than 20 percent of Americans now live in a state in which physician hastened death (PHD) is legal, but the practice remains controversial among physicians. That worries some neurologists because individuals with neurologic illness are, after people with cancer, the second largest group of patients to consider physician-aid-in-dying, according to Compassion & Choices, an advocacy organization that has summarized data from nine jurisdictions that issue reports about the practice.