The American Medical Association has once again rejected physician-assisted suicide by an overwhelming majority, despite lobbying by euthanasia supporters.

After intense discussion, delegates at the annual meeting in Chicago voted 392-162 on Monday to reaffirm the AMA’s existing policy, which states that “Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.”

Delegates also voted 360-190 to adopt the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) report, which recommends the AMA keep its opposition to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, according to MedPage Today….

The issue sparked a long and often impassioned discussions at this year’s annual meeting, reported MedPage Today.

“(The report) clearly speaks the truth as to what this involves — it is directly enabling a patient to end his or her life,” said Dr. Diane Gowski of Florida at a Sunday committee meeting, it reported.

“We would not give our patients a gun or revolver … so we should not be supplying them with lethal drugs. Physician-assisted suicide violates natural moral law,” she said….

Meanwhile, the House of Delegates’ Medical Student Section endorsed a resolution to change the AMA’s position to one of “engaged neutrality” — that is, “neither for nor against physician-assisted suicide,” MedPage Today reported.

That view was hotly contested, however.

“The Medical Student Section of the AMA does not speak for me on this issue,” said Indianapolis medical student Matt Becker at Sunday’s meeting.

“I would argue that choosing to kill oneself is contrary to the human condition and never morally acceptable,” Becker said.

– from a June 11 story on LifeSiteNews.