Many areas of medicine have acceptable error rates. For example, the American College of Emergency Physicians states that a missed diagnosis rate of 1 to 2% is acceptable. And medical error across other sectors is so common that it constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Oddly, though, MAID seems to be held to a higher standard. Anything short of perfection is often mustered as evidence that risks outweigh the benefits. Yes, where an activity poses certain risks, complete prohibition of the activity in question is one method of curtailing the risks.
But the trial judge in Canada's Carter case rightly observed that "the risks inherent in permitting physician-assisted death can be identified and very substantially minimized through a carefully designed system imposing stringent limits that are scrupulously monitored and enforced." It is enough that the risks are "substantially minimized." They need not be wholly eliminated.
Well it’s certainly understandable that it would be held to a higher standard. It’s not really a conventions “medical intervention.”
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