Bioethics

british columbia effectively legalizes assisted suicide …

The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently declared unconstitutional criminal code provisions prohibiting assisting in a suicide … effectively legalizing assisted suicide. The National Post story, BioEdge comments, from Margaret Somerville’s analysis … “People who support legalizing assisted suicide/euthanasia simply assume that individual autonomy is the value that takes priority. But research shows that the

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nathaniel hawthorne’s ‘the birth mark’ …

… is a parable of scientific hubris that prefigures much of modern day bioethics. The story with a brief introduction. The Presidents Council on Bioethics discusses. the story begins … In the latter part of the last century, there lived a man of science—an eminent proficient in every branch of natural philosophy—who, not long before

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decision making … principles & process …

principles …  Standard of Care … Know your medical facts – diagnosis – prognosis – treatment. Get second opinion … go to the literature.   Substituted judgment … “If for whatever reason you are unable to make your own medical decisions … Who should make them for you?”. Put yourself in the patient’s place –

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Oregon assisted suicide update …

Oregon’s public health division has released statistics on deaths under its physician-assisted suicide (PAS) legislation. It shows a steady increase in the number of lethal prescriptions and in the number of deaths. In 1998, the first year after PAS was legalized, there were 24 prescriptions and 16 deaths. In 2011, there were 114 prescriptions and

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