Advances in Medical Ethics
Open Access

Department of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Publications

• Review Article   
  Medical Assistance in Dying in a Profit-Driven Health System: Ethical and Equity Challenges in the United States vs. Canada
  Author(s): Joseph A. Zwillenberg*, Jacob Schwell, Eric M. Teichner, Cameron Haghshenas, Shiv Patil and F. Majdan, MD, FACP, FCPP
  
  Ethics Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID), a legal end-of-life option in Canada with expanding eligibility, now accounts for a growing proportion of deaths across the country. Implemented within a universal, publicly funded health system, MAID is offered alongside a relatively robust continuum of care, including palliative and hospice services. In contrast, possible implementation in the United States fragmented; profit-driven healthcare model raises ethical concerns about how MAID might function if legalized. This paper critically examines the ethical implications of introducing MAID into the United States, where financial incentives, private insurance, and unequal access to care has the potential to distort patients’ end-of-life choices. Through comparative analysis, real-world case studies, and hypothetical vignettes, we argue that without significant reform, MAID in the Unit.. View More»
  

  Abstract PDF