I've been married to a nurse for almost 20 years and often read and discuss AJN articles with her. I am disgusted and repelled that Schwarz is encouraging nurses to help terminally ill patients who want to hasten their own deaths.

Doing so would seem to contradict the Nightingale Pledge, in which nurses swear to "abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug."

According to http://www.euthanasia.com (which states on its home page, "We are committed to the fundamental belief that the intentional killing of another person is wrong."), 35 states have statutes explicitly criminalizing assisted suicide, and nine others criminalize assisted suicide through common law. Schwarz claims, "Nurses who provide information on or support such choices aren't assisting in suicide." But aren't nurses held responsible for their patients' health and welfare?

"Ghoulish" and "reprehensible" come to mind when describing her advocacy. Such action is worthy of censure or discipline from a nursing board.

Keller, TX