An Ethical Perspective on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands from a Nursing Point of View

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie JG van der Arend

In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide are formally forbidden by criminal law, but, under certain strictly formulated conditions, physicians are excused for administering these to patients on the basis of necessity. These conditions are bound up with a long process of criteria development. Therefore, physicians still live in uncertainty. Future court decisions may change the criteria. Apart from that, physicians can always be prosecuted. The position of nurses, however, is perfectly clear; they are never allowed to administer euthanasia or assisted suicide. Nevertheless, they should be involved in the decision-making process because they are an important source of information and have consultation skills. The openness of the discussion about these issues in the Netherlands may prevent an escalation of medical or nursing responsibility and falling victim to the ‘slippery slope’.

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 497-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frits J. Huyse ◽  
Willem van Tilburg ◽  
Ine Klijn ◽  
Gertie Casteelen

On 30 November 1993 a nine year political debate on euthanasia closed; the first chamber of the Dutch parliament ratified the law on undertaking, including euthanasia regulations. This political step concluded, for the time being at least, a legal, public, political and medical debate, which started in 1973, when a medical doctor was convicted for performing euthanasia on her mother. In a first effort in 1983, parliament failed to legalise euthanasia. In 1989 a new government introduced an initiative to improve the existing law in this regard. As a part of the process, empirical data on the extent of euthanasia in The Netherlands were required. Therefore, the Minister of Justice installed a committee. Its findings have been reported nationally and internationally (van der Maas et al, 1991a, 1991b); about 2,300 euthanasia cases in 1990, being 1.8% of all deaths. These empirical findings reduced the uncertainties about the extent of euthanasia, thereby providing a sound basis for the parliamentary decision-making process. Although by the current law euthanasia and assisted suicide still remain illegal, under strict guidelines for behaviour provided by the Ministry of Justice in November 1990 and distributed among physicians in January 1991, euthanasia can be exempted by the public prosecutor from criminal punishment on the basis of the ‘opportunity’ principle, this being the opportunity for the public prosecutor not to bring all reported crimes to court (Letter of the Minister of Justice to Parliament, 1990).


2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada van Bruchem-van de Scheur ◽  
Arie van der Arend ◽  
Frans van Wijmen ◽  
Huda Huijer Abu-Saad ◽  
Ruud ter Meulen

This article presents the attitudes of nurses towards three issues concerning their role in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1509 nurses who were employed in hospitals, home care organizations and nursing homes. The study was conducted in the Netherlands between January 2001 and August 2004. The results show that less than half (45%) of nurses would be willing to serve on committees reviewing cases of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. More than half of the nurses (58.2%) found it too far-reaching to oblige physicians to consult a nurse in the decision-making process. The majority of the nurses stated that preparing euthanatics (62.9%) and inserting an infusion needle to administer the euthanatics (54.1%) should not be accepted as nursing tasks. The findings are discussed in the context of common practices and policies in the Netherlands, and a recommendation is made not to include these three issues in new regulations on the role of nurses in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Osama Khaled Alkhlaifat

The aim of this study has been to investigate and provide a deeper understanding of the motives of silence towards the participation in the work-related decisions, in both the public and private schools in the Jordanian capital (Amman). ‘100’ teachers were interviewed using the semi-structured interviews through the available communication means. The pre-set questions were directed to the sample of the study to identify both the situations related to the decisions and motives leading to silence and non-participation from the respondents' point of view. The motives were classified according to the factors to which they belong, as well as the situations were classified according to each stage of the decision-making process, where some specialists in the field of human resources management had been asked to help in accomplishing the classification. The results showed that the largest percentage of respondents faced at least one situation in which they chose to remain silent. Most of the situations mentioned were related to the first and last stage of decision-making process (identifying the problem and following up the decision). The results also showed that most of the motives were related to the organizational practices by the officials, where the total iteration is twice as the personal motives.


Author(s):  
Tamio Shimizu ◽  
Marley Monteiro de Carvalho ◽  
Fernando Jose Barbin

In the previous chapters, decisions models have been modeled based on the economic point of view of the problem expressed mainly through quantitative values and, in some cases by qualitative representation. The economic perspective draws unique coherence from economic assumptions of rational behavior and it draws predictive power from strongly valid rules of influence that employ mathematical or logical operators. Because the decision must be expressed in a way that is compatible with the rules of inference, great simplicity, and structure are required. In strategic decision making problems great effort has been directed toward relaxing the mathematical constraints, while retaining the economic — logic inference. Another important aspect to be considered is that in both theoretical and practical decision-making models, fixed numbers of decision alternatives or prefixed value of parameters have been considered. The major inputs to the analysis of an econometric model of decision-making process are subjective probabilities, utility values, and decision tree structures. Individuals may differ in their subjective value of probabilities, their utilities of outcomes or in their perceptions of the subsequent actions available. Strategic decision problems involve not only one person’s opinion but involve a group of individuals belonging to different classes and levels of interests inside and outside the organization. No longer is the problem concerned with the selection of the preferred alternative of one person. The analysis must be extended for a group of decision-makers, each one exhibiting a certain preference structure, perceiving different consequences, and corresponding to a diverse set of interest and responsibility. In some cases, depending on the number of persons involved as well as on the nature of the decision problem (for instance, promoting or hiring persons or, electing the president) it will be necessary to adopt a voting system. How can different groups of individual affect a decision-making process? In this chapter, we consider some behavioral aspects of individuals and group of individuals that may affect a decision-making process. Behavioral perspectives of competitive decision-making are neither as well articulated nor as complete as those of economic view. In behavioral views cognitive limitations and the use of mental effort are emphasized. In contrast to the rational approach of the economic frame, the behavioral views acknowledge that players may adopt different kind of rationality.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne K Dees ◽  
Myrra J Vernooij-Dassen ◽  
Wim J Dekkers ◽  
Glyn Elwyn ◽  
Kris C Vissers ◽  
...  

Background: Euthanasia has been legally performed in the Netherlands since 2002. Respect for patient’s autonomy is the underpinning ethical principal. However, patients have no right to euthanasia, and physicians have no obligation to provide it. Although over 3000 cases are conducted per year in the Netherlands, there is little known about how decision-making occurs and no guidance to support this difficult aspect of clinical practice. Aim: To explore the decision-making process in cases where patients request euthanasia and understand the different themes relevant to optimise this decision-making process. Design: A qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with patients making explicit requests for euthanasia, most-involved relative(s) and treating physician. Participants/setting: Thirty-two cases, 31 relatives and 28 treating physicians. Settings were patients’ and relatives’ homes and physicians’ offices. Results: Five main themes emerged: (1) initiation of sharing views and values about euthanasia, (2) building relationships as part of the negotiation, (3) fulfilling legal requirements, (4) detailed work of preparing and performing euthanasia and (5) aftercare and closing. Conclusions: A patient’s request for euthanasia entails a complex process that demands emotional work by all participants. It is characterised by an intensive period of sharing information, relationship building and negotiation in order to reach agreement. We hypothesise that making decisions about euthanasia demands a proactive approach towards participants’ preferences and values regarding end of life, towards the needs of relatives, towards the burden placed on physicians and a careful attention to shared decision-making. Future research should address the communicational skills professionals require for such complex decision-making.


Legal Studies ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
H L Ho

The desirability of having a general duty to give reasons for court decisions has been much debated in Commonwealth jurisdictions. In England, a series of recent cases has consistently upheld the duty, albeit with qualifications. The existence of this general duty is defensible in principle. However, exactly what is required to comply with the duty is not clear. The explanation the judge is expected to give may be analysed in terms of its structure, contents and standard. These aspects are dependent on many factors, such as the rationale underlying the duty, the limitations faced by the judicial system, the nature of the decision- making process, and the significance of the decision. While one can identify the major considerations that operate at a general level, the scope and extent of the duty to explain a particular decision are dependent on the circumstances of the case. This variability makes it difficult to be certain as to when a breach of the duty has occurred. The duty must meet the purposes for which it is imposed and at the same time must not be too unrealistic in its demands.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 406
Author(s):  
Pan Mohamad Faiz

A transformative amendment of the 1945 Constitution established a separate judicial institution called the Constitutional Court. This institution is believed to serve a strategic role within Indonesia’s plural legal  system  particularly  in  the area of constitutional review and constitutional rights protection. However, the performance of the Constitutional Court has attracted controversy. This controversy arises because the Court is concerned with introducing a sociological paradigm of law that embraces substantive justice with a fluid acknowledgment of procedural justice. A key criticism of the Constitutional Court is that the nature of Court decisions has developed into a practice of judicial activism. This article discusses the dimension of judicial activism used by the Constitutional Court on the grounds for protecting constitutional rights of the citizens through its decisions. It also analyses the extent of judicial activism that can be justified in the decision-making process   in the Constitutonal  Court.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 2885
Author(s):  
Zişan Korkmaz Özcan

Governence which means that governing structures act in unision instead of acting seperately is also very significant in the field of health. In this regard, governence approach aims at accomplishing the sense of simultaneous governing corresponding with creating policies and decision-making process by ensuring the participation not only the state but also citizens,private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOS)  as important factors of change.This study aims at assessing whether deficiency in relation with the health tourism in Turkey relates to the governence or not. For that purpose, Antalya that is one of the most important provinces of Turkish tourism has been chosen as a range of application and magnitude of governence of Antalya in the field of health has been tried to be measured by carrying out survey study consisted of public-private institutions and organizations, and the authorities of non-governmental organizations with the over 106 people.According to the results of the suvey, there is a lack of governence in the field of health tourism in Antalya, and this endangers the potential of health tourism. So, being collaborated an advertisement, information and application activity in harmony on the health tourism, and being established public politicy are an important acqusition for both the country and Antalya in terms of economic, political, social and cultural. ÖzetYönetim yapılarının tek başlarına hareket etmeleri yerine, birlikte hareket etmeleri anlamına gelen yönetişim, sağlık turizmi alanında da önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Bu bağlamda yönetişim yaklaşımı, politika oluşturma ve karar verme süreçlerine değişimin önemli aktörleri olarak sadece devletin değil; yurttaşların, özel sektör ve Sivil Toplum Kuruluşları (STK)'nın da katılımını sağlayarak birlikte yönetim anlayışını hayata ge­çirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye'nin sağlık turizminde eksikliğinin yönetişim olup olmadığını belirleyebilmektir. Bu amaçla, Türk turizminin en önemli illerinden biri olan Antalya, uygulama bölgesi olarak seçilmiş ve kamu-özel sektör kurum ve kuruluşları ile STK'nın yetkili kişilerinden oluşan 106 kişi üzerinde yüzyüze yapılan anket çalışması yöntemiyle Antalya bölgesinin sağlık turizmi alanında yönetişim boyutu ölçülmeye çalışılmıştır. Anket çalışmasının sonuçlarına göre, Antalya’da sağlık turizmi alanında yönetişim eksikliği vardır ve bu eksiklik sağlık turizmi potansiyelini tehdit eder sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu bağlamda sağlık turizmi alanında yapılacak olan tanıtım, bilgilendirme ve uygulama faaliyetlerinin işbirliği içerisinde yapılması, kamu politikalarının da bu çerçevede oluşturulması hem ülkemiz, hem de Antalya ili açısından ekonomik, siyasal, sosyal ve kültürel anlamda önemli bir kazanç olacaktır.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 2103-2115
Author(s):  
Bilgehan TEKIN

Decision-making process is a multi-faceted and complex process. Decision making can be defined like a process of choosing from among a number of alternatives. It will not contribute enough to be fully understood and to effective decision making to be addressed only from the rational point of view. Behavioral finance is an integral part of the decision-making process. Individuals can improve their performance by recognizing the biases which discussed in the framework of behavioral finance. Understanding the possible negative effects of biases allows to the individuals to make better choices and they can avoid repeating the expensive errors in future. Result of investigations of behavioral biases on decision-makers in the firms, managerial bias issue has been raised. The studies show the effect of managerial biases on many financial decisions in firms. This paper investigated the role of biases such as overconfidence, loss aversion, optimism, anchoring, narrow framing, self-serving attribution, disposition effect etc. on financial decisions such as investing, financing, equity market, capital structure etc. This study review of 30 international studies related with behavioral corporate finance and behavioral biases that affect financial decisions in firms. The studies were gleaned from Web of Science and Google Scholar. The main contribution of this study to the literature is this study brings out the impact of behavioral biases on financial decisions in the firms by summarizing the previous studies. In this sense, this work also has an assembly quality. Therefore, this is also intended with this study that to transfer the knowledge and intellectual formation about the impact of behavioral bias on the financial decisions. In this paper, most important behavioral biases in the behavioral finance literature will be addressed.


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