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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Killing, letting die and euthanasia.

Medical ethicists debate whether or not the moral assessment of cases of euthanasia should depend on whether the patient is 'killed' or 'allowed to die'. The usual presupposition is that a clear distinction between killing and letting die can be drawn so that this substantive question is not begged. I contend that the categorisation of cases of instances of killing rather than as instances of letting die depends in part on a prior moral assessment of the case. Hence is it trivially rather than substantively true that the distinction has moral significance. But even if a morally neutral (ie non-question begging) distinction could be drawn, its application to the euthanasia controversy is problematic. I illustrate the difficulties of employing this distinction to reach moral conclusions by critically discussing Philippa Foot's recent treatment of euthanasia. I conclude that even if an act of euthanasia is an instance of killing, and there exists a prima facie moral duty not to kill, and no more stringent duty overrides this duty, one still cannot determine such an act to be morally impermissible.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Euthanasia--Polish scientistś viewpoint and in the light of the laws of the people's Republic of Poland].

Euthanasia has for a long time been the object of very lively discussions in Poland. This article contains the views of scientists from various fields of science, especially medical doctors of different specialities. All of them have very serious objections to euthanasia and are against its practical application not only from the medical point of view but first of all for purely humanitarian reasons. Polish penal law regards murder on request as delictum sui generis, i.e., as a kind of privileged crime as compared with common murder. Article No. 150 of the Polish penal law demands two features to characterise euthanasia: (1) the delinquent must act on grounds of compassion towards his victim, and (2) on the victim's request. The patient must be in such a state that gives reason for compassion. The request to shorten somebody's life must be very distinct, direct, firm, conscious and convincing. Perosns under age, mentally defective or unconscious cannot express such a wich. Polish penal law punishes with utmost severtity perpetrators of active euthanasia even in such cases in which the delinquent was moved by the most noble feelings. Only when it comes to penalty is distinction made between such a delinquent and a common murderer.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1976

Euthanasia legislation: a survey and a model act.

With increasing frequency, state legislators have been proposing legislation which would permit euthanasia--the allowance of "death with dignity" --under certain circumstances. These proposals indicate varying degrees of awareness of the issues and problems involved in drafting euthanasia legislation. The Article focuses on such issues and problems, studies the methods proposed by legislators to deal with them, and offers a Modle Euthanasia Act designed to achieve their optimal solution.

Euthanasia↗
PubMed1977

Attitudes towards euthanasia.

There are an infinite variety of attitudes to euthanasia, each individual response to the concept being influenced by many factors. Consequently there is a literature on the subject ranging from the popular article to papers in specialized journals. This study, however, has taken a well defined sample of people, inviting them to answer a questionnaire which was designed to elicit their attitudes to euthanasia in a way which could be analysed statistically. Nor surprisingly attitudes appeared to 'harden' as those answering the questionnaire grew more experienced in dealing with patients and also more professionally established. Thus it was found that of the seven groups questioned practising physicians showed more positive attitudes to euthanasia and their responses did not differ significantly from those of senior medical students. It is these groups which actually or potentially have to resolve the clinical dilemma posed by the dying patient.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Passive euthanasia].

After having been acquainted with the historical development of euthanasia, the following steps for assitance in dying, called passive euthanasia are being discussed. a) Assistance during dying without speeding up death is the self-evident duty of a doctor. b) Assistance during death and speeding up the same as an unavoidable result of therapeutical treatment, more or less desired or more or less unavoidable. c) Assistance through letting the patient die by abandoning all therapeutical means, when these would only lead to a short extension of life time. No doctor is compelled to take measures to extend life if it is against the will of the patient. He is not even entitled to do so. A special problem is the abandoning of extended operative treatment, this borders on the so called active enthanasia. The dying patient always has the same right of treatment by a docter as well as nursing like all other suffering human beings. The decision to let a patient die should not result in leaving him by himself and to abandon all nursing as well. Such steps would include letting him lie in dirty linen, not sucking off the mucous secretion from the trachea, refusal to assist during mealtimes, non-assistance during cathetering, and the removal of the dying person to the bathroom, or any other remote orner of the hospital. No dying person should stay without help Loneliness especially is the greatest pain of a dying patient.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1978

Nitrogen inhalation as a method of euthanasia in dogs.

Thirty-four dogs were euthanatized in a chamber flushed with pure nitrogen. Electroencephalograms and arterial blood pressure, recorded during euthanasia, showed the dogs to be unconscious in an average time of 40 s and to be dead in 204 s. The dogs displayed no detectable signs of pain before unconsciousness occurred. Hypoxia produced by nitrogen inhalation was found to be effective, humane, safe, and economically feasible as a method of euthanasia.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

[The current problem of euthanasia -- a discussion].

New conditions and possibilities of medical treatment demand a more intensive discussion of the problems of the patient with heavy illness and of the dying patient. After a short representation of the notion of euthanasia the individual forms of dying help with their ethical consequences are discussed. Propositions are made for a further elaboration of these problems.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1979

Euthanasia: a serene voyage to death?

Modern Western Culture regards death as a threatening enemy, whereas the ancients, as is the case in eastern philosophy, recognized both the fight with, and the releasing surrender to death. Dying is quite often a serene voyage, be it through old age, sickness, was or even suicide. Attentive listening to those who face the termination of incurable disease reveals the voice of enlightenment: 'euthanasia' also means 'clarified dying'. An attitude like this alleviates our recoil and assists in a supportive approach to the dying human.

Aging↗
PubMed1978

A comparative study of T-61 and pentobarbital for euthanasia of dogs.

A comparative study of T-61 and double-strength pentobarbital for euthanasia of dogs was performed. Effects on EEG, ECG, arterial blood pressure, and respiration were monitored, and time to collapse was measured. In most respects, the effects of the 2 agents were similar; however, 3 of 12 dogs given pentobarbital resumed respiration and cardiac function. None of 9 dogs given T-61 evidenced signs of recovery.

Amides↗
PubMed1978

Pathologic changes induced by an euthanasia agent.

Dogs and cats killed by intravenous injection of either 0.3 ml/kg body weight T-61 or 100 mg/kg body weight pentoarbital and necropsied at less than 5 minutes or at 15 minutes after injection did not have gross or microscopic pathological changes. However, dogs and cats killed with T-61 at a dose of 1.0--1.5 ml/kg body weight and necropsied at 15 minutes after injection had significant gross and microscopic pathological lesions. Grossly, the lungs were severely edematous, did not collapse, and were deep red. Microscopically, the lungs had severe pulmonary edema and endothelial necrosis. Endothelial swelling of glomerular tuft vessels was also present. These lung and kidney lesions are classified as an euthanasia artefact.

Amides↗
PubMed1979

Suicide by intravenous injection of a veterinary euthanasia agent: report of a case and toxicologic studies.

Previously reported cases of suicide by intravenous barbiturates, as well as two other unusual cases [5,6], are compared in Table 2. All decedents were either medical or paramedical personnel and familiar with the drugs and the routes of administration used for their suicides. Lethal is used in veterinary euthanasia at an intravenous dose of 1 ml per 5 kg (10 lbs) body weight. Unconsciousness usually occurs during injection and death supervenes within a matter of seconds. The decedent in the present case weighed 90 kg (200 lbs) and had injected at least 40 ml of the drug, approximately twice the recommended lethal dose. There appears to be little doubt of the victim's suicidal intent, since he had used Lethal in his daily occupational duties. Additionally, the physical configuration of the supports devised to hold the syringe was quite stable, and injection stopped only when the decedent's hand came to rest upon the towels. To our knowledge, the present case represents the only one of its kind in the literature.

1-Propanol↗