Covid-19: Young mother should be allowed to die in “almost unbearable” tragedy, says judge

Should the patient be allowed to die?

In considering the patient's right to a certain quality of dying, this essay outlines how the legal and ethical justifications for passive euthanasia depend on the doctrine of acts and omissions. It is suggested that this doctrine is untenable and that alternative justifications are needed. The development of the modern mechanistic approach to death is traced, showing that a possible basis for ...

Should a hunger-striking prisoner be allowed to die?

The right to be allowed to die.

Commenting on the California case of Elizabeth Bouvia, a quadreplegic who requested hospital assistance to alleviate suffering while she starved herself to death, Brahams expresses the hope that no patient in the United Kingdom will ever be forcibly fed against his or her wishes. Since passage of Britain's Suicide Act of 1961, taking one's own life is not a crime, although aiding a suicide is ...

Should neurosurgery for mental disorder be allowed to die out? For.

The persistence of psychosurgery within the therapeutic armamentarium of psychiatry is something of an anachronism in the current era of evidence-based medicine. Robust evidence for efficacy does not exist and, indeed, can never realistically be gathered because of the extreme ethical difficulties of carrying out randomised controlled trials in this area. Yet there are undoubtedly patients who ...

Should physicians be allowed to use alcohol while on call?

Although physician alcohol use that leads to impairment has been extensively discussed, few statements address the issue of alcohol use of physicians who are on call. In this paper the authors review recent information on physicians' perceptions of alcohol use by themselves and their colleagues while on call. It is argued that conflicts in physicians' perceptions are due to the fact that the la...