Medicine and law
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Comparative Study
Dutch perspectives on the British Medical Association's critique of euthanasia in the Netherlands.
During the summer of 1999, extensive interviews with some of the leading authorities on the euthanasia policy were conducted in the Netherlands. They were asked: The British Medical Association, in its memorandum before the House of Lords, held that in regard to Holland, "all seem to agree that the so-called rules of careful conduct (official guidelines for euthanasia) are disregarded in some cases. ⋯ What do you think? Most of the interviewees conceded that this assertion is, indeed, correct. Two interviewees didn't pay much notice to the issue and three others said that the British critique is both true and untrue.
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Ethical and legal debates over ending life are inescapably emotive, controversial and complex. It is, however, increasingly urgent to resolve the debate over the legalization or continued prohibition of physician assisted suicide for a number of reasons, not least of which is the changing public and professional opinion and the growing concern over what may be actually but quietly and surreptitiously occurring in medical practice. The paper assesses the arguments for and against the legalization of this special case of euthanasia and concludes that with appropriate and well-defined criteria, guidelines, review and reporting requirements, the legalization of physician assisted suicide is not only ethical defensible but practical.