The latest issue of The Lancet has an article about the movement to legalize assisted suicide in Britain (Holmes, 2012). In the same issue there is an open letter to the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, asking for the company to control the distribution of a drug it produces so that the drug won’t be used for capital punishment in the United States (Nicholl, 2012). It’s interesting to note that on this side of the pond, we tend to have the opposite set of viewpoints. A government should be able to take a citizen’s life, but no one can take his or her own life.

Holmes, David. 2012. Legalise assisted suicide, UK Commission urges. Lancet 379:15. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2960005-1/fulltext

Nicholl, David J. 2012. An open letter to Michael Ball, Chief Executive of Hospira Pharmaceuticals. Lancet 379:25. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2960013-0/fulltext

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