The debate about physician-assisted suicide has long been entwined with the nature of the doctor–patient relationship. Opponents of physician-assisted suicide insist that the traditional goals of medicine do not and should not include intentionally bringing about or hastening a patient’s death, whereas proponents of physician-assisted suicide argue that this practice is an appropriate tool for doctors to relieve a patient’s suffering. In this article, I discuss these issues in light of the relevance of a Christian account of the doctor–patient relationship. I argue that Christians typically object to assist suicide independently of the doctor–patient relationship. I argue that a focus on the Christian virtues of charity, compassion, and humility helps to explain why doctors should not assist their patients in suicide.

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医生、协助自杀和基督教美德

关于医生协助自杀的争论长期以来一直与医患关系的性质交织在一起。医生协助自杀的反对者坚持认为，医学的传统目标没有也不应该包括故意导致或加速患者死亡，而医生协助自杀的支持者则认为这种做法是医生减轻患者痛苦的适当工具. 在本文中，我根据基督教对医患关系的描述的相关性来讨论这些问题。我认为，基督徒通常反对独立于医患关系来协助自杀。我认为，对慈善、同情和谦卑等基督教美德的关注有助于解释为什么医生不应该帮助他们的病人自杀。