Submitted by the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County; approved by the AEU Board of Directors

Whereas the Ethical Culture Society of Essex County has passed the above said resolution,

Whereas the said Society has requested the American Ethical Union to consider adopting the above said resolution

Therefore Be It Resolved that the American Ethical Union (AEU) hereby supports the decriminalization of the furnishing of a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs by a physician to an adult patient with full decision-making capacity, at such patient’s insistent and repeated request,where such patient is not treatably depressed and is either terminally ill (within six months of expected death) or in intractable suffering, with reasonable protections against abuse.

Be It Further Resolved that such protections may well be modeled on those of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act and thus include the requirement of a second physicians opinion, full disclosure of alternatives, waiting period, full recording of all interactions with patient in medical record and report of the furnishing of such prescriptions to responsible authorities.