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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Voluntary euthanasia and the risks of abuse
— can we learn anything from the Netherlands? | | Author(s) | Margaret Battin |
| Journal title | Law, Medicine and Health Care, vol 20, nos 1/2, Summer 1992 |
| Pages | pp 133-143 |
| Keywords | Euthanasia ; Elder abuse ; At risk ; Netherlands ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Public debate in the US concerning the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has made much of the risk of abuse. The claim of abuse in the Netherlands - where euthanasia is openly permitted - contributed more than any other factor to the 1991 ballot in Washington State being defeated. The author of this article supports the legalisation of aid-in-dying. She discusses two central questions. First, will there be abuse, and if so, precisely what kind? Types of possible abuse are interpersonal abuse (particularly in families), professional abuse and institutional abuse. Second, can abuse of this sort be prevented? Three types of protection are identified: policies designed to protect the quality of the patient's choice; policies designed to control professional and institutional distortions of a patient's situation; and the development of objective indices of abuse. Both proponents and opponents have a moral duty to present their arguments in the continuing debate concerning voluntary euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980108225 A |
| Classmark | CY: QNT: CA3: 76H: 7T * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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