Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US. Legalizing assisted suicide is not safe.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on May 3, 2016 found that Medical error is the third leading cause of death representing at least 251,000 deaths per year in the United States. The study by Dr Martin Makery and Dr Michael Daniel from the John's Hopkins Department of Surgery is more comprehensive than previous studies.

The Washington Post reported that:

Makary's research involves a more comprehensive analysis of four large studies, including ones by the Health and Human Services Department's Office of the Inspector General and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that took place between 2000 to 2008. His calculation of 251,000 deaths equates to nearly 700 deaths a day -- about 9.5 percent of all deaths annually in the United States.

The Washington Post reported Mackery as stating:

"When a plane crashes, we don’t say this is confidential proprietary information the airline company owns. We consider this part of public safety. Hospitals should be held to the same standards,"

Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US. Very few doctors face serious repercussions for their errors. People have the right to have greater protection in medical facilities. The lives of patients and patient safety must be the priority in medicine. 

This study does not indicate how many injuries or long-term health issues are caused by medical error.

Pietro D'Amico

In April 2013, Pietro D'Amico died at a Swiss assisted suicide clinic, after receiving a wrong diagnosis. An article published in Switzerland's english news service, The Local, stated:

... lawyer Michele Roccisano told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. 

An autopsy carried out by the University of Basel’s Institute of Forensic Medicine found that D’Amico was not suffering from a life-threatening illness at the time of his death. 

Roccisano has called on the Italian and Swiss authorities to examine D’Amico’s medical records to determine what went wrong.

Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide enables doctors to cover-up their medical errors or cause the death of a patient with a wrong diagnosis. Legalizing assisted suicide is not safe.