Oversight Needed on Physician-Assisted Suicide for Hospice Patients, Lawmakers Say

— Patients should not feel "quietly pressured" to end their lives this way, senator says

July 10, 2026

• 4 min read

When it comes to the use of physician-assisted suicide for hospice patients, more guardrails are needed to avoid discrimination against the vulnerable and disabled, several members of Congress told the Trump administration.

"Physician-assisted suicide raises significant informed consent issues as well as concerns about disability and age discrimination," wrote senators James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and representatives Greg Murphy, MD (R-N.C.), and J. Luis Correa (D-Calif.) in a letter Thursday to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "The vast majority of patients receiving physician-assisted suicide are enrolled in hospice ... This poses challenges for HHS and CMS' regulation of patient health and safety within the hospice program."