Euthanasia and Palliative Care in the Low Countries PDF Download

Author: Paul Schotsmans
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Belgium and the Netherlands - the Low Countries - are the first countries in the world to have legalized euthanasia. Physicians who terminate life at the patient's request no longer have to fear criminal prosecution. However, end-of-life legislation in the Low Countries has provoked diverse responses and sparked vigorous and divisive ethical debate. For some, the new legislation has become a shining example; for others it is a lamentable materialization of a culture of death. Euthanasia and Palliative Care in the Low Countries provides an overview and comparison of the legal specifics of the Belgian and Dutch Euthanasia Acts, a discussion of palliative care initiatives and an ethical examination of the new legislation. In addition, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the arguments used in the end-of-life debate and a critical examination of the positions taken by the churches. The book concludes with an overview of how Christian health-care institutions accommodate to this new legal situation.

Author: Sushma Bhatnagar
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ISBN: 1975103106
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Publisher's Note: Products purchased from 3rd Party sellers are not guaranteed by the Publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. A Comprehensive Handbook of Cancer Pain Management in Developing Countries Written by an international panel of expert pain physicians, A Comprehensive Handbook of Cancer Pain Management in Developing Countries addresses this challenging and vital topic with reference to the latest body of evidence relating to cancer pain. It thoroughly covers pain management in the developing world, explaining the benefit of psychological, interventional, and complementary therapies in cancer pain management, as well as the importance of identifying and overcoming regulatory and educational barriers.

Author: Guenter Lewy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199746419
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Advances in medical treatment now enable physicians to prolong life to a previously unknown extent, however in many instances these new techniques mean not the saving of life but prolonging the act of dying. In the eyes of many, medical technology has run out of control and contributes to unnecessary suffering. Hence the demand has arisen that patients should be entitled to choose death when pain and physical and mental deterioration have destroyed the possibility of a dignified and meaningful life and that their doctors should help them to realize this endeavor.At the present time there are seven jurisdictions in the world that, with various restrictions, have legalized the practice of assisted death -- physician-assisted suicide and/or voluntary euthanasia - to wit, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland in Europe and the states of Oregon, Washington and Montana in the United States. Four of these regimes - in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the state of Oregon -- have been functioning for many years, and we have for them a substantial body of data as well as much observational research. This book is based upon this material.The literature dealing with the moral, legal and social aspects of assisted death is voluminous, but there is a paucity of writing that provides a detailed account of the way these four regimes are actually working. Many partisans, on both sides of the issue, cite existing data selectively or, at times, willfully distort the empirical evidence in order to strengthen their case. Based on the documentary record and interviews with officials and scholars, this book seeks to give the specialist as well as the general interested reader a reliable picture of the way assisted death functions and to draw relevant lessons. While accurate factual information cannot settle a moral debate, it nevertheless is a precondition of any well-founded argument.'The author speaks authoritatively about the issues he addresses. I think this book does make an important contribution to the field. It will be of interest to students and scholars of PAS as a source of information and reference. I definitely recommend publication.' Stuart Youngner, Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine'The information collected here makes an important contribution to the literature on PAS because it collects a broad array of relevant information into a single volume. It is interesting and enlightening. This will make the book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the subject and an especially useful resource for academics who study or teach about the issues.' Rosamond Rhodes, Director, Bioethics Education, Mt Sinai School of Medicine

Author: James M. Humber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1592594484
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Physician-Assisted Death is the eleventh volume of Biomedical Ethics Reviews. We, the editors, are pleased with the response to the series over the years and, as a result, are happy to continue into a second decade with the same general purpose and zeal. As in the past, contributors to projected volumes have been asked to summarize the nature of the literature, the prevailing attitudes and arguments, and then to advance the discussion in some way by staking out and arguing forcefully for some basic position on the topic targeted for discussion. For the present volume on Physician-Assisted Death, we felt it wise to enlist the services of a guest editor, Dr. Gregg A. Kasting, a practicing physician with extensive clinical knowledge of the various problems and issues encountered in discussing physician assisted death. Dr. Kasting is also our student and just completing a graduate degree in philosophy with a specialty in biomedical ethics here at Georgia State University. Apart from a keen interest in the topic, Dr. Kasting has published good work in the area and has, in our opinion, done an excellent job in taking on the lion's share of editing this well-balanced and probing set of essays. We hope you will agree that this volume significantly advances the level of discussion on physician-assisted euthanasia. Incidentally, we wish to note that the essays in this volume were all finished and committed to press by January 1993.

Author: Wim Distelmans
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780993268601
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Published to tie in with the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Commons, and the debate around it, this is a guide to the vexed questions of end-of-life care, including euthanasia, intended both for clinicians and for patients and carers facing these questions who want to be fully informed about their choices. Wim Distelmans is a misunderstood figure. Dubbed 'Dr Death' by the Daily Mail for his support for euthanasia, he is in fact a hugely experienced palliative-care doctor who approaches questions related to the end of life with honesty, compassion and concern.

Author: David Albert Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107198860
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
In this book, a global panel of experts considers the international implications of legalised euthanasia based on experiences from Belgium.

Author: Timothy Devos
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030567958
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
This open access book has been written by ten Belgian health care professionals, nurses, university professors and doctors specializing in palliative care and ethicists who, together, raise questions concerning the practice of euthanasia. They share their experiences and reflections born out of their confrontation with requests for euthanasia and end-of-life support in a country where euthanasia has been decriminalized since 2002 and is now becoming a trivial topic.Far from evoking any militancy, these stories of life and death present the other side of a reality needs to be evaluated more rigorously.Featuring multidisciplinary perspectives, this though-provoking and original book is intended not only for caregivers but also for anyone who questions the meaning of death and suffering, as well as the impact of a law passed in 2002. Presenting real-world cases and experiences, it highlights the complexity of situations and the consequences of the euthanasia law.This book appeals to palliative care providers, hematologists, oncologists, psychiatrists, nurses and health professionals as well as researchers, academics, policy-makers, and social scientists working in health care. It is also a unique resource for those in countries where the decriminalization of euthanasia is being considered. Sometimes shocking, it focuses on facts and lived experiences to challenge readers and offer insights into euthanasia in Belgium.

Author: Committee on Care at the End of Life
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309518253
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
When the end of life makes its inevitable appearance, people should be able to expect reliable, humane, and effective caregiving. Yet too many dying people suffer unnecessarily. While an "overtreated" dying is feared, untreated pain or emotional abandonment are equally frightening. Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care. This volume offers a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: Determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family. Establishing clinical and personal goals. Matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances. Approaching Death considers the dying experience in hospitals, nursing homes, and other settings and the role of interdisciplinary teams and managed care. It offers perspectives on quality measurement and improvement, the role of practice guidelines, cost concerns, and legal issues such as assisted suicide. The book proposes how health professionals can become better prepared to care well for those who are dying and to understand that these are not patients for whom "nothing can be done."

Author: Paulina Taboada
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401791066
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
The book’s main contribution is its interdisciplinary approach to the issue of sedation at the end-of-life. Because it occurs at the end of life, palliative sedation raises a number of important ethical and legal questions, including whether it is a covert form of euthanasia and for what purposes it may legally be used. Many of the book chapters address the first question and almost all deal with a specific form of the second: whether palliative sedation should be used for those experiencing “existential suffering”? This raises the question of what existential suffering is, a topic that is also discussed in the book. The different chapters address these issues from the perspectives of the relevant disciplines: Palliative Medicine, Bioethics, Law and Theology. Hence, helpful accounts of the clinical and historical background for this issue are provided and the importance of drawing accurate ethical and legal distinctions is stressed throughout the whole book. So the volume represents a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on this topic and should be helpful across a broad spectrum of readers: philosophers, theologians and physicians.

Author: John Griffiths
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1847314309
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 644

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Book Description
This book is a successor to J Griffiths, A Bood and H Weyers, Euthanasia and Law in the Netherlands (Amsterdam University Press 1998) which was widely praised for its thoroughness, clarity, and accuracy. The new book emphasises recent legal developments and new research, and has been expanded to include a full treatment of Belgium, where since 2002 euthanasia has also become legal. The book also includes descriptions written by local specialists of the legal situation and what is known about actual practice in a number of other European countries (England and Wales, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain, Switzerland). The book strives for as complete and dispassionate a description of the situation as possible. It covers in detail: - the substantive law applicable to euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, withholding and withdrawing treatment, use of pain relief in potentially lethal doses, palliative and terminal sedation, and termination of life without a request (in particular in the case of newborn babies); -the process of legal development that has led to the current state of the law; -the system of legal control and its operation in practice; -the results of empirical research concerning actual medical practice. A concluding part deals with some general questions that arise out of the material presented: Is the legalisation of euthanasia an example of the decline of law or should it, on the contrary, be seen as part and parcel of the increasing juridification of the doctor-patient relationship? Does the Dutch experience with legalised euthanasia support the idea of a 'slippery slope' toward a situation in which life-especially of the more vulnerable members of society-is less effectively protected? Is it possible to explain and to predict when a society will decide to legalise euthanasia?