Barbiturates in the Care of the Terminally Ill

Abstract

Barbiturates are well known for their capacity to cause death reliably and painlessly and for their efficacy in producing unconsciousness before the administration of other lethal drugs. Barbiturates are used in the execution of prisoners by lethal injection,¹ are commonly employed by Dutch physicians in performing euthanasia,² and have played a part in reported cases of assisted suicide in the United States.^{3 , 4} A recent best-selling book recommends barbiturates as a reliable method of suicide for the terminally ill.⁵ Physicians also administer barbiturates to the terminally ill without intending that they be used to cause the death of the patient. Even . . .