1
|
Fowler WC, Koenig HG. Should Physician-Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia be Legalized in the United States? A Medically Informed Perspective. JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND HEALTH 2024; 63:1058-1074. [PMID: 37938413 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-023-01939-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
There is a pressing debate in the United States concerning the implied physicians' obligation to do no harm and the status of legalizing physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Key issues that underpin the debate are important to consider. These include: (1) foundational medical beginnings; (2) euthanasia's historical and legal background context; and (3) the key arguments held by those for and against legalization of PAS. This paper reviews the major claims made by proponents for the legalization of PAS and the associated complexities and concerns that help underscore the importance of conscience freedoms. Relief of suffering, respect for patient autonomy, and public policy arguments are discussed in these contexts. We argue here that the emphasis by healthcare providers should be on high quality and compassionate care for those at the end of life's journey who are questioning whether to prematurely end their lives. If medicine loses its chief focus on the quality of caring-even when a cure is not possible-it betrays its objective and purpose. In this backdrop, legalization of PAS harms not only healthcare professionals, but also the medical profession's mission itself. Medicine's foundation is grounded in the concept of never intentionally to inflict harm. Inflicting death by any means is not professional or proper, and is not trustworthy medicine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- W Craig Fowler
- Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lillington, NC, USA
- University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Harold G Koenig
- Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3400, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
- Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People's Republic of China.
- Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cobianchi L, Dal Mas F, Massaro M, Biffl W, Catena F, Coccolini F, Dionigi B, Dionigi P, Di Saverio S, Fugazzola P, Kluger Y, Leppäniemi A, Moore EE, Sartelli M, Velmahos G, Woltz S, Angelos P, Ansaloni L. Diversity and ethics in trauma and acute care surgery teams: results from an international survey. World J Emerg Surg 2022; 17:44. [PMID: 35948947 PMCID: PMC9364511 DOI: 10.1186/s13017-022-00446-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Investigating the context of trauma and acute care surgery, the article aims at understanding the factors that can enhance some ethical aspects, namely the importance of patient consent, the perceptiveness of the ethical role of the trauma leader, and the perceived importance of ethics as an educational subject. METHODS The article employs an international questionnaire promoted by the World Society of Emergency Surgery. RESULTS Through the analysis of 402 fully filled questionnaires by surgeons from 72 different countries, the three main ethical topics are investigated through the lens of gender, membership of an academic or non-academic institution, an official trauma team, and a diverse group. In general terms, results highlight greater attention paid by surgeons belonging to academic institutions, official trauma teams, and diverse groups. CONCLUSIONS Our results underline that some organizational factors (e.g., the fact that the team belongs to a university context or is more diverse) might lead to the development of a higher sensibility on ethical matters. Embracing cultural diversity forces trauma teams to deal with different mindsets. Organizations should, therefore, consider those elements in defining their organizational procedures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Trauma and acute care teams work under tremendous pressure and complex circumstances, with their members needing to make ethical decisions quickly. The international survey allowed to shed light on how team assembly decisions might represent an opportunity to coordinate team member actions and increase performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Cobianchi
- Department of Clinical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy.
- Department of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Francesca Dal Mas
- Department of Management, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
| | - Maurizio Massaro
- Department of Management, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
| | - Walter Biffl
- Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Federico Coccolini
- General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Departmrnt, Pisa University Hospital Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Beatrice Dionigi
- New York Presbyterian Columbia University Irvine Medical Center, Irvine, NY, USA
| | - Paolo Dionigi
- Department of Clinical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy
| | - Salomone Di Saverio
- ASUR Marche 5, San Benedetto del Tronto General Hospital, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
| | - Paola Fugazzola
- Department of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Yoram Kluger
- Division of General Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ari Leppäniemi
- Abdominal Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ernest E Moore
- Department of Surgery, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO, USA
| | | | - George Velmahos
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sarah Woltz
- Department of Surgery, Spaarne Gasthuis, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Angelos
- Department of Surgery and MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Luca Ansaloni
- Department of Clinical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Alessandro Brambilla, 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy
- Department of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|