The Journal of medicine and philosophy
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Notwithstanding the question of whether abortion is generally or exceptionally a legitimate means of family planning, it is basically agreed that abortion is not justifiable without free and informed consent of the pregnant woman. However, if abortion is held by the legislature to be a "ground of justification" (i.e., a far-reaching exception to criminal liability), is it true that abortion may also be carried out for the benefit of a pregnant woman who is not able to give free and informed consent? Should a substituted-judgment approach be applied in cases where the woman is incompetent to decide? Or should the pregnant woman's relatives' interests be taken into account exclusively? The author tries to answer these questions, which were tackled by the Austrian Supreme Court in a recent case.
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Dutch euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide stand on the eve of important legal changes. In the summer of 1999, a new government bill concerning euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide was sent to Parliament for discussion. ⋯ Since the approval by the Dutch Senate can be regarded as a formality, it is expected that the bill will come into force in the course of this year (2001). In this paper we discuss these new developments.