Journal of medical ethics
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Journal of medical ethics · Jan 2008
"Allow natural death" versus "do not resuscitate": three words that can change a life.
Physician-written "do not resuscitate" DNR orders elicit negative reactions from stakeholders that may decrease appropriate end-of-life care. The semantic significance of the phrase has led to a proposed replacement of DNR with "allow natural death" (AND). Prior to this investigation, no scientific papers address the impact of such a change. Our results support this proposition due to increased likelihood of endorsement with the term AND.
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Journal of medical ethics · Jan 2008
A role for doctors in assisted dying? An analysis of legal regulations and medical professional positions in six European countries.
To analyse legislation and medical professional positions concerning the doctor's role in assisted dying in western Europe, and to discuss their implications for doctors. ⋯ A society moving towards an open approach to assisted dying should carefully identify tasks to assign exclusively to medical doctors, and distinguish those possibly better performed by other professions.