Journal of medical ethics
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Journal of medical ethics · Aug 2015
ReviewCan physicians conceive of performing euthanasia in case of psychiatric disease, dementia or being tired of living?
Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (EAS) in patients with psychiatric disease, dementia or patients who are tired of living (without severe morbidity) is highly controversial. Although such cases can fall under the Dutch Euthanasia Act, Dutch physicians seem reluctant to perform EAS, and it is not clear whether or not physicians reject the possibility of EAS in these cases. ⋯ This study shows that a minority of Dutch physicians find it conceivable that they would grant a request for EAS from a patient with psychiatric disease, dementia or a patient who is tired of living. For physicians who find EAS inconceivable in these cases, legal arguments and personal moral objections both probably play a role.
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Journal of medical ethics · Aug 2015
ReviewContinuing or forgoing treatment at the end of life? Preferences of the general public and people with an advance directive.
We studied preferences on continuing or forgoing different types of treatments at the end of life in two groups: the general public and people with an advance directive (AD). Furthermore, we studied factors associated with these preferences and whether people's preferences concurred with the content of their AD. ⋯ The fact that people with and without ADs have different preferences concerning different treatments and diseases stresses the importance of communication surrounding decision making at the end of life.
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Journal of medical ethics · Aug 2015
ReviewHow long is long enough, and have we done everything we should?--Ethics of calling codes.
'Calling' a code can be an ambiguous undertaking. Despite guidelines and the medical literature outlining when it is acceptable to stop resuscitation, code cessation and deciding what not to do during a code, in practice, is an art form. Familiarity with classic evidence suggesting most codes are unsuccessful may influence decisions about when to terminate resuscitative efforts, in effect enacting self-fulfilling prophesies. ⋯ Yet, recent evidence links longer code duration with improved outcomes, and advances in resuscitation techniques complicate attempts to standardise both resuscitation length and the application of advanced interventions. In this context of increasing clinical and moral uncertainty, discussions between patients, families and medical providers about resuscitation plans take on an increased degree of importance. For some patients, a 'bespoke' resuscitation plan may be in order.
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The winding down and withdrawal of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) following the Neuberger Report has been met with mixed reviews. It appears that responsibility for failures of clinical care has been laid at the feet of a care pathway rather than the practitioners who used it, a rather curious outcome given that the LCP was primarily a system of documentation, a tool with no intrinsic therapeutic properties. The Neuberger inquiry was the result of persistent and repeated reports of poor-quality end-of-life care associated with the use of the LCP. ⋯ These problems were not insurmountable, however, and were being addressed by the organisation responsible for the LCP. With the removal of the LCP, we are left with no bench mark for end-of-life care, only aspirational goals for individualised care plans. It seems unlikely that practitioners who could not provide appropriate care with the LCP will do so without it.
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Belgium has recently extended its euthanasia legislation to minors, making it the first legislation in the world that does not specify any age limit. I consider two strands in the opposition to this legislation. ⋯ Second, there is another position in the public debate that wishes to keep the current age restriction on the books and have ethics boards exercise discretion in euthanasia decisions for minors. I interpret this position on the background of Velleman's 'Against the Right to Die' and show that, although costs remain substantial, it actually can provide some qualified support against extending euthanasia legislation to minors.