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Terry Petrovich asked her oncologist point blank: “Am I going to count on you to help me achieve a good death?” To her relief, he told her he would have no problem prescribing a lethal dose of drugs under California’s new law allowing such prescriptions for the terminally ill. But many in California’s medical community are grappling with the law that goes into effect June 9. Some physicians have told their patients they are not willing to play a role in intentionally ending a person’s life. (Watson, 6/3)

California's new law allowing life-ending drugs for the terminally ill has the strictest requirements of any of the five states that permit such prescriptions. Many physicians say they are nervous about prescribing lethal doses of drugs for the terminally ill. The law in the nation's most populous state took decades to pass and goes into effect June 9. There are concerns it will lead to hasty decisions, misdiagnosis, and even waning support by insurers for palliative care, in which dying people can be sedated to relieve their suffering. (Watson, 6/3)