‘Human dignity is inviolable. To respect and protect is the duty of all state authority.’ Thus begins the first article of the German constitution, the ‘Grundgesetz’. Many of the political debates of the last decades, from abortion to euthanasia, have been concerned with the interpretation of the concept of human dignity (‘Die Würde des Menschen’ – in a more literal translation: The dignity of ...

Résumé Abstract Au cours des dernières décennies, le droit de mourir a émergé comme l’une des questions sociales et politiques les plus controversées en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. Celui-ci implique la mobilisation de nombreux acteurs sociaux et militants ainsi que plusieurs défis juridiques. Au Québec, le législateur provincial a formé le « Comité spécial sur la question de mourir dans la d...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe nursing interventions to promote dignified dying as identified by nurses in four countries. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey design. SETTING Hospitals and clinics in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and the United States. SAMPLE A convenience sample of 560 nurses who cared for dying patients in Ethiopia (n = 14), India (n = 229), Kenya (n = 36), and the United States (n...

background: ethical standards of nursing profession emphasize that taking care of patients, showing respectful behavior, and preserving patients’ human dignity are important nursing priorities. furthermore, since time immemorial, humanistic thinkers have always paid close attention to the issues of humanity and human dignity. despite the emphasis of nursing texts on the importance of preserving...