Law Relating to Euthanasia in India: a Critical Study
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The Right to End-Of-Life Palliative Care and a Dignified Death 1
THE RIGHT TO END-OF-LIFE PALLIATIVE CARE AND A DIGNIFIED DEATH 1 CONTRIBUTION FROM UN-ECLAC FOR THE EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON “CARE AND OLDER PERSONS: LINKS TO DECENT WORK, MIGRATION AND GENDER” 5-7 December 2017 United Nations Headquarters, New York – Secretariat Building, Conference Room S -2725 1. The right to life and dignity in old age The approach of death involves a number of activities, as different practicalities pertaining to the end of life have to be organized. It is essential for these activities —which are carried out by family members, caregivers and medical personnel, among others— to meet standards that ensure appropriate living conditions until such time as clinical and biological death supervenes. Older persons are among the most vulnerable to death. Their position in the age structure of society becomes almost by default a predictor of their demise. This social construction of old age prompts a particular way of treating the elderly: “The social structures in which [older persons] are involved are oriented to the fact of their forthcoming death; their families have become increasingly independent of them; the scope of references to the ‘future’ has progressively narrowed; ‘dying’ is of considerably less consequence for others, e.g., it is not felt to be a matter which requires drastic revision of others’ life plans, as does the ‘fact’ that a young adult is dying” (Sudnow, 1967).2 Older persons are sometimes treated like cadavers even when they are, clinically and biologically, still alive. This occurs especially in cases where they are dying or suffering from terminal illnesses, although they do not necessarily have to be in this predicament to receive degrading treatment. -
Piercing the Veil: the Limits of Brain Death As a Legal Fiction
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Volume 48 2015 Piercing the Veil: The Limits of Brain Death as a Legal Fiction Seema K. Shah Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr Part of the Health Law and Policy Commons, and the Medical Jurisprudence Commons Recommended Citation Seema K. Shah, Piercing the Veil: The Limits of Brain Death as a Legal Fiction, 48 U. MICH. J. L. REFORM 301 (2015). Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjlr/vol48/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PIERCING THE VEIL: THE LIMITS OF BRAIN DEATH AS A LEGAL FICTION Seema K. Shah* Brain death is different from the traditional, biological conception of death. Al- though there is no possibility of a meaningful recovery, considerable scientific evidence shows that neurological and other functions persist in patients accurately diagnosed as brain dead. Elsewhere with others, I have argued that brain death should be understood as an unacknowledged status legal fiction. A legal fiction arises when the law treats something as true, though it is known to be false or not known to be true, for a particular legal purpose (like the fiction that corporations are persons). -
Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia: Some Relevant Differences John Deigh
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 88 Article 14 Issue 3 Spring Spring 1998 Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia: Some Relevant Differences John Deigh Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation John Deigh, Physician-Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia: Some Relevant Differences, 88 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 1155 (Spring 1998) This Criminal Law is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. 0091-4169/98/8803-1155 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW& CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 88, No. 3 Copyright 0 1998 by Northwestern University, School of Law Prinfd in U.SA. PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE AND VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA: SOME RELEVANT DIFFERENCES JOHN DEIGH" Yale Kamisar, in a series of influential articles on physician- assisted suicide and voluntary active euthanasia, has written elo- quently in opposition to legalizing these practices.1 Today he revisits the first of these articles, his seminal 1958 article, Some Non-Religious Views Against Proposed "Mercy-Killing"Legislation. 2 In that paper Professor Kamisar used the distinction between the law on the books and the law in action to quiet concerns about the harsh consequences of a blanket prohibition on mercy kill- ing. A blanket prohibition, after all, if strictly applied, would impose criminal punishment on physicians and relatives whose complicity in bringing about the death of a patient, or loved one was justified by the dying person's desperate condition and lucid wish to die. -
A Study on Legalising Euthanasia in India 1AGILA S ,2Dhanasekar
International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Volume 120 No. 5 2018, 4353-4362 ISSN: 1314-3395 (on-line version) url: http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ Special Issue http://www.acadpubl.eu/hub/ A Study on Legalising Euthanasia in India 1AGILA S ,2Dhanasekar. M 1Student, BA., LLB., Student, Saveetha School of Law , Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-77, Tamil nadu , India. 2Assistant Professor, Saveetha School of Law , Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai-77, Tamil nadu , India [email protected], [email protected], ABSTRACT: Euthanasia is a term that regularly starts warmed civil argument, paying little heed to whether individuals are 'for' or 'against'. It is a standout amongst the most talked about moral issues in late time as uncovered by the significant number of logical productions, media scope of particular cases and furthermore proposed charges in numerous nations. The idea depends on the rationality of humanism and empathy. It perceives the independence of an individual opportunity of decision to live incredible poise. In this article an endeavour has been made to streamline the legitimate and good complexities common on the planet in regards to Euthanasia with extraordinary reference to Indian socio-lawful picture. This research explains about the is an exceptionally old issue, with its foundations in traditional reasoning.As of late the idea of Euthanasia has turned out to be progressively under the spotlight because of the continuous technicians ion of medication. To explain importance of effectiveness of euthanasia and to analysis the status of euthanasia and to explore the role of judiciary to euthanasia . -
Guidelines for Determining Death Based on Neurological Criteria
GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING DEATH BASED ON NEUROLOGICAL CRITERIA New Jersey 2014 1 These guidelines have been drafted by the New Jersey Ad Hoc Committee on Declaration of Death by Neurologic Criteria, under the leadership of Dr. John Halperin, M.D. and William Reitsma, RN. We are grateful for the hard work and knowledgeable input of each of the following medical, legal and health care professionals. The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, and the guidelines for Brain Death Determination they promulgated in 2011. This document provides the foundation for these guidelines. John J. Halperin, M.D., FAAN, FACP Medical Director, Atlantic Neuroscience Institute Chair, Department of Neurosciences Overlook Medical Center Summit, NJ Alan Sori, M.D., FACS Director of Surgical Quality, Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center Paterson, NJ Bruce J. Grossman, M.D. Director of Pediatric Transport Services Pediatric Intensivist K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center Neptune, NJ Gregory J. Rokosz, D.O., J.D., FACEP Sr. Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs/CMO Saint Barnabas Medical Center Livingston, NJ Christina Strong, Esq. Law Office of Christina W. Strong Belle Mead, NJ 2 GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING DEATH BASED ON NEUROLOGICAL CRITERIA BACKGROUND This document provides guidance for determining death by neurological criteria (commonly referred to as “brain death”), aims to increase knowledge amongst health care practitioners about the clinical evaluation of death determined by neurological criteria and reduce the potential for variation in brain death determination policies and practices amongst facilities and practitioners within the State of New Jersey. -
Recommendations for End-Of-Life Care for People Experiencing Homelessness
Adapting Your Practice Recommendations for End-of-Life Care for People Experiencing Homelessness Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network 2018 Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network Adapting Your Practice: Recommendations for End-of-Life Care for People Experiencing Homelessness was developed with support from the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All material in this document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without special permission. Citation as to source, however, is appreciated. i ADAPTING YOUR PRACTICE: Recommendations for End-of-Life Care for People Experiencing Homelessness Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network Disclaimer This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U30CS09746, a National Training and Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement for $1,625,741, with 0% match from nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. ii ADAPTING YOUR PRACTICE: Recommendations for End-of-Life Care for People Experiencing Homelessness Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network Preface Clinicians experienced in caring for individuals who are homeless routinely adapt their practice to foster better outcomes for these patients. This document was written for health-care professionals, program administrators, other staff, and students serving patients facing end of life who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. -
Brain Death and the Philosophical Significance of the Process Of
The Linacre Quarterly Volume 68 | Number 1 Article 3 February 2001 Brain Death and the Philosophical Significance of the Process of Development of, and Cessation of, Consciousness in Arousal and Awareness in the Human Person Theodore Gillian Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq Recommended Citation Gillian, Theodore (2001) "Brain Death and the Philosophical Significance of the Process of Development of, and Cessation of, Consciousness in Arousal and Awareness in the Human Person," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 68: No. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol68/iss1/3 Brain Death and the Philosophical Significance of the Process of Development of, and Cessation of, Consciousness in Arousal and Awareness in the Human Person. by Theodore Gillian, OFM The author is a priest ofthe Order ofFriars Minor in the Province of the Holy Spirit, residing in Sydney, Australia. Before entering the priesthood, he was a pharmacist I am arguing that the human person, as the human identity from conception to death, links death with the beginnings of life and vice versa. This challenges us to identify the human person as one in a unitary development, physical and spiritual, that is sundered only at death. In approaching the matter from this angle I bring into focus the problem of identifying what happens at death and the problem of identifying what happens at the " beginning of personal life. This requires seeing through our psychological states to discover the necessary substratum that actually is the human person. At the outset, death is taken as the demarcation between the "process of dying and disintegration" (1 Garcia, 37). -
Factors Influencing Individuals Attitudes Toward Voluntary Active
AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Donna A Champeau for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health presented on November 23, 1994. Title: Factors Influencing Individual Attitudes Toward Voluntary Active Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. Redacted for privacy Abstract approved: Rebecca J. Donate lle Issues of right to life, as well as death have surfaced as topics of hot debate. In particular, questions about when and if individuals have the right to end their own lives have emerged and gained considerable attention as health policy issues having the potential to affect all Americans.. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that are most likely to influence an individual's decision to support or not support voluntary active euthanasia (VAE) and physician assisted suicide (PAS) in specific medical situations. This study also examined the differences in medical vignettes by various demographic and attitudinal factors. Data were collected from a sample of classified staff members at two institutions of higher learning in Oregon. A survey was used to collect all data. Paired sample T- tests, stepwise multiple regression analysis and repeated measures multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to analyze the data. Based on survey results, there were significant differences in attitudes toward PAS and VAE for each medical vignette. Religious beliefs, fear of dependency, and fear of death were the most powerful predictors of individual support for PAS in each medical situation. In the case of VAE, there were differences in support on each medical situation in terms of the most powerful predictors: fear of dependency and religious beliefs for the cancer vignette, fear of dependency, religious beliefs, and age for the ALS vignette, and religious beliefs and fear of dependency for the paralysis vignette. -
Brain Death Panel Slides
SUPPORTING THE BRAIN DEATH DECLARATION THE ROLE OF PALLIATIVE CARE May Ronci, RN, CHPN Lori Carlton-Mowry, MSW, ACSW Frequently What is brain death? Asked Questions Brain death occurs when a person has an irreversible, catastrophic brain injury, which causes total cessation of all What Tests can be used to brain function (the upper brain structure and brain stem). evaluate brain death? Brain death is not a coma or persistent vegetative state. Brain death is determined in the hospital by two physicians. • Apnea Test: The apnea test looks for a patient’s effort to breathe on their own. If • Some causes of brain death include, but are not limited to: someone cannot breath on • Trauma to the brain (i.e. severe head injury caused by a motor vehicle crash, gunshot wound, fall or blow to the head) their own, this is considered a very strong • Cerebrovascular injury (i.e. stroke or aneurysm) confirmatory test for brain • Anoxia (i.e. drowning or heart attack when the patient is revived, but not before a lack of blood flow/oxygen to the brain death. has caused brain death) • Brain tumor • Electroencephalogram (EEG): An EEG measures If my loved one is brain dead, what does that mean? electrical activity in the When someone is brain dead, it means that the brain is no brain. An EEG can help longer working in any capacity and never will again. When caregivers evaluate the brain death is declared, it means your loved one has died. presence of electrical activity of the brain and the Your loved may not appear dead because the chest will type of electrical activity continue to rise and fall with the ventilator providing breaths, that is occurring. -
“Good Death” in Small Animals and Consequences for Euthanasia in Animal Law and Veterinary Practice
animals Article Philosophy of a “Good Death” in Small Animals and Consequences for Euthanasia in Animal Law and Veterinary Practice Kirsten Persson 1,*, Felicitas Selter 2, Gerald Neitzke 2 and Peter Kunzmann 1 1 Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559 Hannover, Germany; [email protected] 2 Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; [email protected] (F.S.); [email protected] (G.N.) * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 30 November 2019; Accepted: 7 January 2020; Published: 13 January 2020 Simple Summary: Euthanasia in veterinary practice is often discussed as one of the profession’s major burdens. At the same time, it is meant to bring relief to terminally ill and/or severely suffering animal patients. This article examines “euthanasia” from a philosophical perspective regarding different definitions and underlying basic assumptions concerning the meaning of death and welfare for nonhuman animals. These theoretical issues will then be discussed in relation to laws and guidelines on euthanasia and practical challenges with end-of-life decisions in small animal practice. Factors which are identified as potential causes of the complex problems regarding euthanasia are as follows: the confusing framework for euthanasia in law and soft regulations; the inclusion of many stakeholders’ perspectives in end-of-life decision-making; potential conflicts between the veterinarians’ personal morality and legal requirements and professional expectations; and, most of all, the veterinarians’ lack of awareness for underlying philosophical assumptions regarding possible understandings of euthanasia. Different practical suggestions are made to clarify and facilitate euthanasia in small animal practice. -
The Chronically 111 Child and Recurring Family Grief
The Chronically 111 Child and Recurring Family Grief Ralph C. Worthington, PhD Greenville, North Carolina Chronically ill children and their families are increasingly seen in health care prac tices as the incidence of infant mortality and formerly fatal childhood diseases has decreased. These children present special challenges to the physician's per ceived role as healer. Unlike the sequenced predictable stages of grief that fam ilies go through in facing terminal illness, the grief experienced by parents of the chronically ill is recurrent and cyclical. The physician who understands and can anticipate the causes and nature of this grief will be subject to less frustration in treating these children and their families and will be able to offer them more ef fective care. As the Joneses and their child left the office, the physi model of recurring grief that may help physicians antici cian reflected: Why are these parents, and evidently the pate, understand, and offer more effective care for families entire family, having such a difficult time accepting this of children with chronic illness. child’s chronic condition? One month I see them and they seem to have adjusted very well. Two months later and they all seem to be depressed. Another month, and they are hostile toward anyone that even looks like a doctor. THE CHRONICALLY ILL CHILD How can I get them to accept their child’s condition and make the best o f it? By now they should have worked their The past few decades have seen virtually an end to many way through this. childhood diseases. -
Collective Rights Vs Individual Rights? Examining the “Right to Die.”
William L. Saunders Collective Rights vs Individual Rights? Examining the “Right to Die.” Introduction Properly understood, there is no conflict between “collective rights” and “individual rights.” Part of the reason a conflict is assumed to exist is that a sound understanding of what constitutes a “right” has been lost. This is because often, and falsely, mere “wishes” are conflated with “rights.” Harvard Professor Mary Ann Glendon helpfully analyzed this in her book Rights Talk.1 True “collective rights” and true “individual rights” buttress each other and are better understood as aspects of “human rights.” Since human persons live in community, an aspect of human rights concerns communities (or societies or cultures) in which human beings live. However, those communities are not obligated to indulge every individual’s whim or purported “right.” Wishes and desires, even if deeply felt, do not constitute “rights.” Rather, rights properly understood are reflections of what is good for the human person. Society has an obligation to respect and promote the good of the human person, not an individual’s subjective desires. Recognizing and respecting legitimate individual human rights promotes the common good, and vice versa. Thus, a proper understanding of human rights reconciles alleged conflicts between “collective” and “individual” rights. However, false “rights” threaten the good of both the in- dividual and society. A purported new “right,” the “right to die,” illustrates these points. The first section of this paper will define what is meant by the “right to die.” The second section will show there is no foun- dation in the law for a “right to die.” The third section will explain why creating a new “right to die” is detrimental to society, particularly the medical profession, the elderly, the depressed, and the disabled.