Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pjpqr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-15T16:20:44.353Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

22 - Physician aid-in-dying and euthanasia

from 2 - End-of-life issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2012

Gail A. Van Norman
Affiliation:
University of Washington
Stephen Jackson
Affiliation:
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Stanley H. Rosenbaum
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine
Susan K. Palmer
Affiliation:
Oregon Anesthesiology Group
Get access

Summary

This chapter presents a case study which analyzes whether physicians can end a patient's life at his or her request (as in euthanasia), or otherwise collaborate with the ending of life at a patient's initiative (as in assisted suicide). A request for euthanasia or assisted suicide is an emotionally taxing situation, where a thoughtful and respectful response is particularly important. Requirements for legal euthanasia or assisted suicide include that patients need to be capable of decision making and persistently requesting death, and that there be otherwise intractable suffering. Requests for aid-in-dying should be taken seriously and carefully listened to. Screening for and treatment of problematic symptoms and depression may lead to withdrawal of the request. When a request for aid-in-dying persists and no life-sustaining treatments are being employed, the response will depend on the legal status of euthanasia or assisted suicide, and on the physician's own convictions.
Type
Chapter
Information
Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology
A Case-Based Textbook
, pp. 128 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×