In Defense of "Physician-Assisted Suicide": Toward (and Back to) a Transparent, Destigmatizing Debate

Many bioethicists have recently shifted from using " physician-assisted suicide" (PAS) to " medical aid-in- dying" (MAID) to refer to the act of voluntarily hastening one's death with the assistance of a medical provider. This shift was made to obscure the practice's connection to " suicide. " However, as the charge of " suicide " is fundamental to arguments against the practice, " MAID " can only be used by its proponents. The result has been the fragmentation of the bioethical debate. By highlighting the role of human agency-as opposed to natural processes-in causing death, the term " PAS " makes it easier both to perceive potential risks to vulnerable populations and to affirm suicide as a potentially autonomous choice. As such, " PAS " thus more transparently expresses the arguments of both supporters and opponents of the " right to die," while avoiding the unnecessary stigmatization of suicide and suicidal people which is a result of the usage of " MAID. "