Aid in Dying and Palliative Sedation

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 587-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Rousseau
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Sedation ◽  
Aid In Dying

Ethical issues in physician aid-in-dying

2021 ◽  
pp. 1161-1169
Author(s):  
Lars Johan Materstvedt
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Treatment Decisions ◽  
Palliative Sedation ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Aid In Dying ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
Normative Ethical Theory

According to international convention, physician aid-in-dying includes euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, both of which are voluntarily requested forms of medicalized killings. In the former, a physician injects the patient with lethal drugs, whereas in the latter, the patient self-administers such drugs. The two practices differ fundamentally from non-treatment decisions and from the last-resort treatment, palliative sedation, and details of the differences are outlined in the chapter. Physician aid-in-dying differs considerably in appearance, depending on which normative ethical theory is taken as the point of departure and how various theories can be used either to reject or to defend physician aid-in-dying. The chapter also discusses alternative ways for palliative care physicians to relate to physician aid-in-dying.

Montana Court Rules in Favor of Aid in Dying

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-65
Author(s):  
JOYCE FRIEDEN
Keyword(s):  
Aid In Dying

Trial by Triad: substituted judgment, mental illness and the right to die

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-107154
Author(s):  
Jacob M Appel
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Depressive Disorders ◽  
Substituted Judgment ◽  
Diminished Capacity ◽  
Accepted Standard ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Aid In Dying ◽  
Incapacitated Patients ◽  
The Right

Substituted judgment has increasingly become the accepted standard for rendering decisions for incapacitated adults in the USA. A broad exception exists with regard to patients with diminished capacity secondary to depressive disorders, as such patients’ previous wishes are generally not honoured when seeking to turn down life-preserving care or pursue aid-in-dying. The result is that physicians often force involuntary treatment on patients with poor medical prognoses and/or low quality of life (PMP/LQL) as a result of their depressive symptoms when similarly situated incapacitated patients without such depressive symptoms would have their previous wishes honoured via substituted judgment. This commentary argues for reconsidering this approach and for using a substituted judgment standard for a subset of EMP/LQL patients seeking death.

scholarly journals Impact of legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying on the Use of Palliative Sedation in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Chart Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 104990912110304
Author(s):  
Amy Nolen ◽  
Rawaa Olwi ◽  
Selby Debbie
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Palliative Sedation ◽  
Palliative Care Unit ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
Before And After

Background: Patients approaching end of life may experience intractable symptoms managed with palliative sedation. The legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada in 2016 offers a new option for relief of intolerable suffering, and there is limited evidence examining how the use of palliative sedation has evolved with the introduction of MAiD. Objectives: To compare rates of palliative sedation at a tertiary care hospital before and after the legalization of MAiD. Methods: This study is a retrospective chart analysis of all deaths of patients followed by the palliative care consult team in acute care, or admitted to the palliative care unit. We compared the use of palliative sedation during 1-year periods before and after the legalization of MAiD, and screened charts for MAiD requests during the second time period. Results: 4.7% (n = 25) of patients who died in the palliative care unit pre-legalization of MAiD received palliative sedation compared to 14.6% (n = 82) post-MAiD, with no change in acute care. Post-MAiD, 4.1% of deaths were medically-assisted deaths in the palliative care unit (n = 23) and acute care (n = 14). For patients who requested MAiD but instead received palliative sedation, the primary reason was loss of decisional capacity to consent for MAiD. Conclusion: We believe that the mainstream presence of MAiD has resulted in an increased recognition of MAiD and palliative sedation as distinct entities, and rates of palliative sedation increased post-MAiD due to greater awareness about patient choice and increased comfort with end-of-life options.

Continuous palliative sedation until death: practice after introduction of the Dutch national guideline

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siebe J Swart ◽  
Agnes van der Heide ◽  
Tijn Brinkkemper ◽  
Lia van Zuylen ◽  
Roberto Perez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Sedation ◽  
National Guideline ◽  
Continuous Palliative Sedation

Aid-in-Dying: Should We Decriminalize Physician-Assisted Suicide and Physician-Committed Euthanasia?

1992 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria T. CeloCruz
Keyword(s):  
Medical Journal ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Active Euthanasia ◽  
Physician Assisted Suicide ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Voluntary Active Euthanasia ◽  
Aid In Dying

Recent news stories, medical journal articles, and two state voter referenda have publicized physicians’ providing their patients with aid-in-dying. This Note distinguishes two components of aid-in-dying: physician-assisted suicide and physiciancommitted voluntary active euthanasia. The Note traces these components’ distinct historical and legal treatments and critically examines arguments for and against both types of action. This Note concludes that aid-in-dying measures should limit legalization initiatives to physician-assisted suicide and should not embrace physician-committed voluntary active euthanasia.

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