Conscientious objection and physician-assisted suicide: a viable option in the UK?

2018 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2018-001541
Author(s):  
Derek Willis ◽  
Rob George
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Future Application ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Legal Grounds

Conscience objection is a proposed way of ensuring that medical practitioners who object to physician-assisted suicide may avoid having to be involved in such a procedure if this is legalised. This right on the part of healthcare professionals already exists in certain circumstances. This paper examines the ethical and legal grounds for conscientious objection for medical professionals and shows how it is heavily criticised in circumstances where it is already used. The paper comes to the conclusion that as the grounds and application of conscience objection are no longer as widely accepted, its future application in any legislation can be called into question.

Views regarding physician-assisted suicide: a study of medical professionals at various points in their training

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Kitching ◽  
Andrew James Stevens ◽  
Louise Forman
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Postal Questionnaire ◽  
Acute Hospital ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
The Uk

In this study, we sought to obtain detailed opinion on some of the practical issues that might arise should physician-assisted suicide (PAS) ever be legalized in the UK. We carried out an anonymous postal questionnaire of medical students, junior and senior doctors working at an acute hospital trust, over a three-week period. A total of 435 questionnaires were distributed and we had an overall return rate of 34%. We found that opinions changed very little as doctors progressed from medical school through to senior clinical positions. Overall, there was neutral opinion on whether PAS should be legalized. There was strong support for a multidisciplinary approach to the process and the involvement of the coroner. An opt-out clause for physicians who did not want to be involved in assisted suicide also received strong support.

Euthanasia and Related Practices Worldwide

Crisis ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Kelleher † ◽  
Derek Chambers ◽  
Paul Corcoran ◽  
Helen S Keeley ◽  
Eileen Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
International Association ◽  
Active Euthanasia ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Passive Euthanasia ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
International Importance ◽  
Controversial Area ◽  
Active And Passive Euthanasia

The present paper examines the occurrence of matters relating to the ending of life, including active euthanasia, which is, technically speaking, illegal worldwide. Interest in this most controversial area is drawn from many varied sources, from legal and medical practitioners to religious and moral ethicists. In some countries, public interest has been mobilized into organizations that attempt to influence legislation relating to euthanasia. Despite the obvious international importance of euthanasia, very little is known about the extent of its practice, whether passive or active, voluntary or involuntary. This examination is based on questionnaires completed by 49 national representatives of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), dealing with legal and religious aspects of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, as well as suicide. A dichotomy between the law and medical practices relating to the end of life was uncovered by the results of the survey. In 12 of the 49 countries active euthanasia is said to occur while a general acceptance of passive euthanasia was reported to be widespread. Clearly, definition is crucial in making the distinction between active and passive euthanasia; otherwise, the entire concept may become distorted, and legal acceptance may become more widespread with the effect of broadening the category of individuals to whom euthanasia becomes an available option. The “slippery slope” argument is briefly considered.

Rights Discourse and Assisted Suicide

2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-99
Author(s):  
Penney Lewis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Supreme Courts ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Law Professors

The debate surrounding the legalization of assisted suicide has been galvanized in recent years by reports of specific cases of assisted suicide, primarily involving physicians such as Kevorkian and Quill, and by impassioned pleas for legalization and assistance in suicide from individuals suffering in the throes of terminal or agonizing diseases, such as Sue Rodriguez. Media attention on criminal trials of individuals accused of assisting in a suicide has heightened public awareness of the issue. The constitutionality of criminal prohibitions on assisted suicide has been tested in various jurisdictions, and has recently been considered by the Supreme Courts of both the United States and Canada. Following two narrowly unsuccessful attempts to enact dignified death provisions by referenda in Washington and California, Oregon voters passed the first of such proposed laws in November 1994, providing for physician-assisted suicide under certain specified conditions. Attempts to introduce legislation to legalize assisted suicide in other jurisdictions have been galvanized by the success in Oregon. A model statute has been drafted by a group of law professors, philosophers and medical professionals.

scholarly journals Ethical considerations at the end-of-life care

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 205031212110009
Author(s):  
Melahat Akdeniz ◽  
Bülent Yardımcı ◽  
Ethem Kavukcu
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Biomedical Ethics ◽  
Artificial Nutrition ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide

The goal of end-of-life care for dying patients is to prevent or relieve suffering as much as possible while respecting the patients’ desires. However, physicians face many ethical challenges in end-of-life care. Since the decisions to be made may concern patients’ family members and society as well as the patients, it is important to protect the rights, dignity, and vigor of all parties involved in the clinical ethical decision-making process. Understanding the principles underlying biomedical ethics is important for physicians to solve the problems they face in end-of-life care. The main situations that create ethical difficulties for healthcare professionals are the decisions regarding resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, terminal sedation, withholding and withdrawing treatments, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. Five ethical principles guide healthcare professionals in the management of these situations.

Suicide Tourism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Contractual Agreements ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Law

This book explores the phenomenon of ‘suicide tourism’. Freedom of movement creates problems with policies constrained by national boundaries and, as more countries contemplate regulating assisted suicide, there is now a pressing need for a theoretical investigation of the issues that provides a thorough appraisal of the global situation. Switzerland is no longer the only country where a person can find assistance for legal suicide. A similar law has been passed in Croatia, and Dutch and Belgian laws do not prohibit assisted suicide for non-residents. Few states in the US provide for physician-assisted suicide for state residents but US citizens from elsewhere can take simple steps to overcome this restriction. As more countries legally permit assisted suicide, suicide tourism will become a larger and more complex global practice. The book sets out the parameters for future debate, first contextualizing the practice and casting light on how it is treated under international and domestic law. It then analyses the ethical ramifications, and considers where the state’s responsibility should lie in dealing with accompanying persons and in regulating contractual agreements. It also contains a sociological and cultural analysis of suicide tourism, a review of policy and media reports on the topic, and interviews with various stakeholders (including policymakers, and medical and patients’ organizations) in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK. The book concludes with a summary of the legal, ethical, political, and sociological dimensions of suicide tourism, offering recommendations for how professionals and policymakers might respond to this evolving phenomenon.

Spanish regulation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107523
Author(s):  
Tamara Raquel Velasco Sanz ◽  
Pilar Pinto Pastor ◽  
Beatriz Moreno-Milán ◽  
Lydia Frances Mower Hanlon ◽  
Benjamin Herreros
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Conscientious Objection ◽  
Comprehensive Care ◽  
Healthcare Team ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Care Dependency ◽  
Spanish Law ◽  
Specific Composition ◽  
The Law

In March 2021, the Spanish Congress approved the law regulating euthanasia, that regulates both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). In this article, we analyse the Spanish law regulating euthanasia and PAS, comparing it with the rest of the European laws on euthanasia and PAS (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Identified strengths of the Spanish law, with respect to other norms, are that it is a law with many safeguards, which broadly recognises professionals’ right to conscientious objection and the specification that it makes on the prior comprehensive care of the patient, including the approach to care dependency. Regarding its shortcomings, the law does not differentiate well between euthanasia and PAS; it barely assigns a role to the healthcare team as a whole (similar to other regulations); it does not clarify the functions of the different professionals involved; it does not detail the specific composition and duration of theevaluation commission; it has not been accompanied by a prior or simultaneous regulation of palliative care; and, lastly, the period of time to implement the law is too short.

End-of-Life Options Act Fails to Protect Conscience Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Kubick ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Life Options

In March 2021, New Mexico became the ninth state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. This practice, which allows medical professionals to aid in the intentional death of their patients, is counter to Catholic teaching. As such, it raises concerns regarding the conscience rights of Catholic physicians, as well as physicians who are morally opposed to the practice. In particular, while there ostensibly are protections for those who object, the requirement for physicians unwilling to aid in the deaths of their patients to refer said patients to physicians who will, essentially compels individuals to participate in an act that is intrinsically evil.

scholarly journals Legalizing physician-assisted suicide and/or euthanasia: Pragmatic implications

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1399-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hudson ◽  
Rosalie Hudson ◽  
Jennifer Philip ◽  
Mark Boughey ◽  
Brian Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Training Research ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues ◽  
Practical Implications

AbstractObjective:Despite the availability of palliative care in many countries, legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) continues to be debated—particularly around ethical and legal issues—and the surrounding controversy shows no signs of abating. Responding to EAS requests is considered one of the most difficult healthcare responsibilities. In the present paper, we highlight some of the less frequently discussed practical implications for palliative care provision if EAS were to be legalized. Our aim was not to take an explicit anti-EAS stance or expand on findings from systematic reviews or philosophical and ethico-legal treatises, but rather to offer clinical perspectives and the potential pragmatic implications of legalized EAS for palliative care provision, patients and families, healthcare professionals, and the broader community.Method:We provide insights from our multidisciplinary clinical experience, coupled with those from various jurisdictions where EAS is, or has been, legalized.Results:We believe that these issues, many of which are encountered at the bedside, must be considered in detail so that the pragmatic implications of EAS can be comprehensively considered.Significance of Results:Increased resources and effort must be directed toward training, research, community engagement, and ensuring adequate resourcing for palliative care before further consideration is given to allocating resources for legalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Empirical research in the debate on physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-132
Author(s):  
Stephen W Smith
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Voluntary Euthanasia ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
End Of Life Decisions ◽  
The Uk

This article explores the use of empirical data when considering whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and voluntary euthanasia. In particular, it focuses on the evidence available to the Select Committee for the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill on whether or not covert euthanasia is taking place in the UK under the current prohibition of PAS and voluntary euthanasia. The article shows that there is an insufficient evidentiary basis to make any claims about the extent of covert euthanasia within the UK, although there is sufficient evidence to conclude that instances of covert euthanasia do happen. The article also calls for more research to be conducted in order to determine the rate of covert euthanasia in order to inform debate about the legalization of end-of-life decisions such as PAS and voluntary euthanasia.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document