NATION IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Doctor Not Indicted in Patient’s Suicide

A grand jury in Rochester, N.Y., refused to indict a doctor who admitted prescribing the barbiturates that a cancer patient used to commit suicide, and a prosecutor said that ended the possibility of prosecution. The case began when Dr. Timothy Quill, 41, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine that he prescribed barbiturates for a leukemia patient he identified as “Diane,” 45, and told her how many pills it would take to kill her. The woman died of a barbiturate overdose at home. No specific charge was ever filed against the doctor. The state Health Department continues to investigate Quill’s activities, and he could face professional misconduct charges.