Physician Assisted Suicide Flashcards
What is the legislation regarding physician assisted suicide?
PAS is When a physician assists suicide: where a competent person ends their own life but with the assistance of another person to perform that act eg by providing the means to do so
In the uk it is considered manslaughter or murder, illegal in England and Wales
No specific law in Scotland
What are advance directives?
Details of treatment refusal where it would not be possible to communicate issues - treatment must be named and situations where this treatment is unacceptable must also be named
What role should doctors take regarding legislation that will affect them and the way they practice?
Doctors should heed legislations eg duty of care, right to life and as of now it is illegal therefore doctors cannot assist or provide items that may help a patient commit suicide
Are medical ethics static or can/should they change with time?
Medical ethics are not static eg abortion, and will change over time according to societal and cultural shift towards the right of the individual to make their own life decisions
