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18 HEALTH • Spring 2018 As public sentiment changes, some Mass. docs say 'no' to assisted suicide \\ Emily Micucci W hen the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) voted in December to rescind its longstanding opposition to physician- assisted suicide, it appeared to be an important turning point for those who believe the option should be legal for the terminally ill. But the debate among members about whether adopting a position of "neutral engagement," which neither favors nor opposes the practice, has continued to swirl in the months following the decision by the professional organization's policy-making body, known as the House of Delegates. EUTHANASIA DEBATE "We are neither for it, nor are we taking a position against it." Dr. Henry Dorkin, President, Massachusetts Medical Society In an interview in February, Dr. Henry Dorkin, president of the MMS, was adamant the doctors hadn't voted to embrace proposed legislation to make it legal for doctors to prescribe a lethal prescription for terminally ill patients with a life expectancy of six months or less. "We are neither for it, nor are we taking a position against it," Dorkin said. Rather, Dorkin said by being neutrally engaged, MMS doctors can provide physician insight to lawmakers as they mull two bills, one filed in the House and one in the Senate, to legalize the practice. Similar legislation and ballot mea- sures have been brought forward in Massachusetts numerous times over the last eight years, without successful passage. Proponents came close to victory in November 2012, when the ballot initiative known as "Death with Dignity" was narrowly defeated, with 51.9 percent of voters opposing it. Mounting support Since it narrowly failed to pass mus- ter in Massachusetts, U.S. public opin- ion on physician-assisted suicide has grown more favorable. According to a May 2017 Gallup Poll, 73 percent of Americans said it should be legal at the request of terminally ill patients. That was the highest level since 2005. Over the decades, there has been a seachange in public opinion on the