The Islamic perspective on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia

Madadin, Mohammed; Sahwan, Houria S Al; Altarouti, Khadijah K; Altarouti, Sarraa A; Eswaikt, Zahra S Al; Menezes, Ritesh G.

doi:10.1177/0025802420934241

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to religious principles in Iran, humans do not have the right to decide to die, and euthanasia is highly ignored and against the law. 10, [45][46][47] This view is also supported in other Islamic countries, such as Singapore, 48 Pakistan, 49 Indonesia, 49 and Turkey. 7 It is evident that the level of education, the type of religion, and religiosity of individuals have a significant impact on nurses' overall attitudes toward euthanasia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

The Attitude of Iranian Critical Care Nurses Toward Euthanasia

Zeydi¹,

Ghazanfari²,

Fast³

et al. 2022

Critical Care Nursing Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Today, one of the major ethical challenges facing the world's health care system, and in particular nurses in the intensive care unit, is euthanasia or death out of pity. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitude of Iranian nurses in the intensive care unit toward euthanasia. This was an analytical cross-sectional study using census sampling. The data collection tool was the Euthanasia Attitude Scale. A total of 206 nurses working in the intensive care unit in 4 hospitals in the Mazandaran province of Iran were included in this study. The mean of total Euthanasia Attitude Scale score in intensive care unit nurses was 2.96. The mean euthanasia dimensions were ethical consideration, practical considerations, treasuring life, and naturalistic beliefs, 3.03, 2.92, 2.98, and 2.99, respectively. There was significant but low negative correlation between age and total Euthanasia Attitude Scale score, ethical considerations, and practical considerations. Male nurses exhibited significantly higher Euthanasia Attitude Scale scores, specifically in regard to ethical and practical considerations compared with female nurses. The most Iranian nurses in the intensive care unit had a negative attitude toward euthanasia for patients in the later stages of the disease. However, this opposition was less than similar studies in Iran in the past.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

The Attitude of Iranian Critical Care Nurses Toward Euthanasia

Zeydi¹,

Ghazanfari²,

Fast³

et al. 2022

Critical Care Nursing Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Finally, religiosity was negatively correlated with approval of euthanasia in specific cases. There is a long-standing condemnation of most or all forms of assisted dying in several global religious traditions, including Orthodox Judaism ( Bradley, 2009 ), Christianity ( Baeke et al, 2011 ), and Islam ( Madadin et al, 2020 ). A recent systematic review of attitudes towards PAS across five world religions found largely negative attitudes in Islamic respondents, variable responses in Christian and Jewish respondents, and limited acceptance in Buddhist respondents.…”

Section: Paradoxical Correlates Of Attitudes Towards Pas: Analyzing the Results Of The World Values Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further searches were conducted within these results using the additional search terms "caregiver," "caregiver burden," "stress," "behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia," "BPSD," "economic," "financial," "autonomy," "dignity," "identity," "personhood" and "ethics." By this method, a total of 103 citations were retained (Pereira, 2011;Schuurmans et al, 2021;Kemmelmeier et al, 2002;Bradley, 2009;Baeke et al, 2011;Chakraborty et al, 2017;Madadin et al, 2020;Nichols, 2013;Emanuel et al, 2000;Krag, 2014;Trachtenberg and Manns, 2017;Bilchik, 1996;Lazar and Davenport, 2018;Karrer et al, 2020;Stakišaitis et al, 2019;Finucane et al, 2007;Finucane, 1999;Sachs et al, 2004;Dominguez et al, 2021;Meier, 1997;Liu et al, 2020;Gao et al, 2019;Gilhooly et al, 2016;Watson et al, 2019;Cheng, 2017;Biggs et al, 2019;Fam et al, 2019;Dening et al, 2013;Owen et al, 2001;Cohen-Mansfield and Brill, 2020;Anderson et al, 2019;O'Dwyer et al, 2016;Bravo et al, 2018;Wicher and Meeker, 2012;Stolz et al, 2015;Seike et al, 2021;Kashimura et al, 2021;Zwingmann et al, 2018;…”

Section: Pitfalls Inherent In the Practice Of Pas In The Specific Case Of Dementiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the purpose of the review and analysis presented below, the PubMed, ProQuest and Scopus literature databases were searched using the broad search terms “dementia” AND either “euthanasia,” “assisted suicide,” “physician-assisted suicide” or “medical assistance in dying.” After removal of duplicates, a total of 642 citations were retrieved via this initial search. Further searches were conducted within these results using the additional search terms “caregiver,” “caregiver burden,” “stress,” “behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia,” “BPSD,” “economic,” “financial,” “autonomy,” “dignity,” “identity,” “personhood” and “ethics.” By this method, a total of 103 citations were retained ( Pereira, 2011 ; Schuurmans et al, 2021 ; Kemmelmeier et al, 2002 ; Bradley, 2009 ; Baeke et al, 2011 ; Chakraborty et al, 2017 ; Madadin et al, 2020 ; Nichols, 2013 ; Emanuel et al, 2000 ; Krag, 2014 ; Trachtenberg and Manns, 2017 ; Bilchik, 1996 ; Lazar and Davenport, 2018 ; Karrer et al, 2020 ; Stakišaitis et al, 2019 ; Finucane et al, 2007 ; Finucane, 1999 ; Sachs et al, 2004 ; Dominguez et al, 2021 ; Meier, 1997 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Gao et al, 2019 ; Gilhooly et al, 2016 ; Watson et al, 2019 ; Cheng, 2017 ; Biggs et al, 2019 ; Fam et al, 2019 ; Dening et al, 2013 ; Owen et al, 2001 ; Cohen-Mansfield and Brill, 2020 ; Anderson et al, 2019 ; O'Dwyer et al, 2016 ; Bravo et al, 2018 ; Wicher and Meeker, 2012 ; Stolz et al, 2015 ; Seike et al, 2021 ; Kashimura et al, 2021 ; Zwingmann et al, 2018 ; Gitlin et al, 2019 ; von Känel et al, 2019 ; Zwingmann et al, 2019 ; Gerk, 2017 ; Kipke, 2015 ; Deardorff and Grossberg, 2019 ; Tiel et al, 2015 ; Borroni et al, 2008 ; Kim et al, 2021 ; Yunusa et al, 2019 ; Seibert et al, 2021 ...…”

Section: Pitfalls Inherent In the Practice Of Pas In The Specific Case Of Dementiamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Physician-Assisted Suicide in Dementia: Paradoxes, Pitfalls and the Need for Prudence

Rajkumar

2021

Front. Sociol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There has been an increasing drive towards the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in patients with dementia, particularly in patients with advanced disease and severe cognitive impairment. Advocacy for this position is often based on utilitarian philosophical principles, on appeals to the quality of life of the patient and their caregiver(s), or on economic constraints faced by caregivers as well as healthcare systems. In this paper, two lines of evidence against this position are presented. First, data on attitudes towards euthanasia for twenty-eight countries, obtained from the World Values Survey, is analyzed. An examination of this data shows that, paradoxically, positive attitudes towards this procedure are found in more economically advanced countries, and are strongly associated with specific cultural factors. Second, the literature on existing attitudes towards PAS in cases of dementia, along with ethical arguments for and against the practice, is reviewed and specific hazards for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals are identified. On the basis of these findings, the author suggests that the practice of PAS in dementia is not one that can be widely or safely endorsed, on both cultural and ethical grounds. Instead, the medical field should work in collaboration with governmental, social welfare and patient advocacy services to ensure optimal physical, emotional and financial support to this group of patients and their caregivers.

show abstract

“…Islamic countries, like Iran, do not have laws permitting euthanasia. Hence, performing any kind of euthanasia by the physician, even after getting the patient’s consent, is considered a murder ( Madadin et al, 2020 ). As a result, to avoid future legal and criminal issues, comprehensive interventions are needed to change medical staff’s attitudes toward passive euthanasia in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Care Providers’ Attitudes Toward Do-Not-Resuscitate Order in COVID-19 Patients: An Ethical Dilemma in Iran

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aimed to investigate the health care providers’ attitudes toward the Do-Not-Resuscitate order (DNR) in COVID-19 patients. This study was conducted on 332 health care providers (HCPs) at the COVID-19 referral hospital in Shahroud, Iran by convenience sampling method. The study tools included a demographic information form and the DNR attitude questionnaire. Significance level was considered 0.05 for all tests. The mean scores of attitudes toward DNR order, the procedure of DNR, some aspects of passive euthanasia, and religious and cultural factors were 25.27 ± 2.78, 40.61 ± 5.99, 11.26 ± 2.51, and 6.12 ± 1.27, respectively. The death of relatives due to COVID-19 and female gender were associated with high and low scores of attitudes toward DNR order, respectively. Extended working hours and more work experience were correlated with high scores of DNR procedure. The history of COVID-19 increased the mean score of attitudes toward some aspects of passive euthanasia. In addition, an increase in following COVID-19 news decreased the score of religious and cultural factors affecting DNR order. Despite the legal ban on implementation of the DNR in Iran, the attitude of Iranian HCPs toward this was positive in COVID-19 patients.

show abstract

The Islamic perspective on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia

Cited by 12 publications

References 44 publications

The Attitude of Iranian Critical Care Nurses Toward Euthanasia

The Attitude of Iranian Critical Care Nurses Toward Euthanasia

Physician-Assisted Suicide in Dementia: Paradoxes, Pitfalls and the Need for Prudence

Health Care Providers’ Attitudes Toward Do-Not-Resuscitate Order in COVID-19 Patients: An Ethical Dilemma in Iran

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About