Developments in euthanasia practice in the Netherlands: Balancing professional responsibility and the patient's autonomy.

We describe important relevant developments and look into the role and the meaning of two dimensions of the concept of 'patient autonomy' regarding end-of-life decisions, in particular, the euthanasia request. We claim that the concept of autonomy 'as a right,' which can be distinguished from autonomy 'as an ideal,' narrows the physician's window of opportunity to offer end-of-life care other than euthanasia. PMID: 30381970 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: European Journal of General Practice - Category: Primary Care Tags: Eur J Gen Pract Source Type: research