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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The article by Wilson et al¹ indicates once again the close association between a dying patient's wish to see their life end sooner and both physical and especially psychological distress.^2-5 One should interpret their data beyond that with caution.

Reporting that 73% of terminally ill participants in their study believed that euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide should be legalized seems to imply an imperative for social policy to loosen legislative prohibitions against physician-hastened death. However, it should be pointed out that the rate of endorsement reported in this small group of dying patients is no different than what has been widely reported in many public opinion polls at large.⁶ In that regard it would seem that dying patients are no different than others; anticipation of a painful, undignified terminal course would see many look toward the availability of physician-hastened death as a comforting (albeit rarely exercised) option. A dying patient recently . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Attitudes of Terminally Ill Patients Toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide
Keith G. Wilson, John F. Scott, Ian D. Graham, Jean F. Kozak, Susan Chater, Raymond A. Viola, Barbara J. de Faye, Lynda A. Weaver, and Dorothyann Curran
Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(16):2454-2460.
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