Why nurses must actively participate in the debate on assisted suicide: A symposium

White, Becky Cox; Zimbelman, Joel

doi:10.1016/s8755-7223(99)80033-7

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…1997, Pierce 1999; White 1999; Young & Ogden 2000). In addition, a special edition of The Journal of Professional Nursing focused on this matter (see White 1999; White & Zimbelman 1999). Further, opinion on the role of the nurse in assisted suicide is clearly divided.…”

Section: What Role If Any Should Psychiatric/mh Nurses Play In Assimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, in the same document, all nurses are reminded of their duty to respect the individual rights of the person and respect his or her human dignity. Interestingly, these duties have been used as arguments both for and against assisted suicide (see White 1999; White & Zimbelman 1999). The American Association of Nurses (1994) went so far as to offer a position statement on assisted suicide, (but the authors could not locate a similar position statement from the NMC or Canadian Psychiatric Nurses Association).…”

Section: What Role If Any Should Psychiatric/mh Nurses Play In Assimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Whose life is it anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part two

Cutcliffe

Links

2008

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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This is the second of a two-part paper which focuses on five principal issues/questions which can inform mental health nurses' ethical discourse around the matter of suicide. This second part focuses on the questions: is there such a phenomenon as a rational or appropriate suicide? And what role, if any, should mental health nurses occupy in assisted suicide? We find that the relevant theoretical and ethical literature in this area suggests, at least for some, that there may very well be such a phenomenon as a rationale suicide, especially if the often cited myth that all people who complete suicide must ipso facto have a mental health problem, is scrutinized. Furthermore, the extant literature indicates that while for the majority of suicidal acts, mental disorders may be a necessary but not sufficient element; the suicidal process is not, however, synonymous with mental disorder phenomenology. Lastly, whether or not there is a role(s) for mental health nurses in assisted suicide is difficult to say because there is almost no indication in the literature that such views have been solicited and considered. Given mental health nurses' often 'front-line' involvement in care of the person who is suicidal, there is an urgent need to canvass these views and include them in the debate. Lastly, given the content of current mental health nurses Codes of Ethics and Professional Codes of Conduct, there may be a need to revisit these codes in light of contemporary and changing views of assisted suicide.

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Section: What Role If Any Should Psychiatric/mh Nurses Play In Assimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Role If Any Should Psychiatric/mh Nurses Play In Assimentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose life is it anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part two

Cutcliffe

Links

2008

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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“…In such states, nurses will have important supportive roles to play in caring for patients who are considering or have chosen assisted suicide, for example, by aiding in the informed consent process, alerting a physician that a patient is considering assisted suicide (if, as may often be the case, the patient broaches the issue first with a nurse), identifying patients considering assisted suicide who might suffer from mental illness or otherwise lack decisional capacity, and helping to confirm that the patient’s choice for assisted suicide is truly and fully voluntary. 3 –5 Many of these actions exist in a gray area between clearly “participating” in assisted suicide and merely playing a supportive role that falls short of the sort of participation that some view as ethically unacceptable. An important question is where, exactly, the relevant line is to be drawn.…”

Section: Justifying Official Positionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the American Nurses Association’s arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide

Vogelstein

2017

Nurs Ethics

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This discussion paper critically assesses the American Nurses Association's stated arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide, as found in its current (2013) position statement. Seven distinct arguments can be gleaned from the American Nurses Association's statement, based on (1) the American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements and its injunction against nurses acting with the sole intent to end life, (2) the risks of abuse and misuse of assisted suicide, (3) nursing's social contract or covenant with society, (4) the contention that nurses must not harm their patients, (5) the sanctity of life, (6) the traditions of nursing, and (7) the fundamental goals of nursing. Each of these arguments is evaluated, and none are found to be convincing. This is crucial because the American Nurses Association's official stance on nurse participation in assisted suicide can have significant consequences for the well-being of nurses who care for patients in jurisdictions in which assisted suicide is legally available. The American Nurses Association should therefore have a strong and convincing justification for opposing the practice, if it is to take such a position. That it fails to evince such a justification in its official statement on the matter places a burden on the American Nurses Association to more strongly justify its position, or else abandon its stance against nurse participation in assisted suicide.

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Why nurses must actively participate in the debate on assisted suicide: A symposium

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Whose life is it anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part two

Whose life is it anyway? An exploration of five contemporary ethical issues that pertain to the psychiatric nursing care of the person who is suicidal: Part two

Evaluating the American Nurses Association’s arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide

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