Which statement defines physician-assisted suicide?

• A. A form of euthanasia in which a doctor provides the means for someone to end his or her own life.
• B. A care approach where nurses supervise patient comfort measures.
• C. A legal requirement for physicians to report end-of-life.
• D. A government program funding hospice.

Answer: (A)

Physician-assisted suicide is defined by the physician providing the means for the patient to end their own life, with the patient performing the final act themselves. The key feature is that the physician supplies what is needed, but the patient self-administers, distinguishing it from scenarios where the clinician directly administers a lethal dose to end life.

This helps you see why the other statements don’t fit: one describes palliative or comfort-focused care, where nurses oversee measures to keep the patient comfortable rather than end life; another speaks to reporting requirements at end of life, not the act itself; and the last refers to hospice funding, which is about care settings and supports rather than the act of assisted dying.