Euthanasia and Palliative Care : an overview in the light of the 2002 legislation in the Netherlands

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  • 安楽死と疼痛緩和医療 : オランダ「要請による生命の終結および自殺幇助(審査手続き)法」施行を機に考える
  • アンラクシ ト トウツウ カンワ イリョウ オランダ ヨウセイ ニ ヨル セイメイ ノ シュウケツ オヨビ ジサツホウジョ シンサ テツヅキ ホウ シコウ オ キ ニ カンガエル

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Abstract

On 1 April 2002, the following act came into force in the Netherlands: Review procedures for the termination of life on request and assisted suicide and amendment of the Criminal Code and the Burial and Cremation Act. This legislation allows patients experiencing unbearable suffering to request euthanasia, and the doctors who carry it out to be free from prosecution, provided they follow strict procedures. The legislation was passed in a society where individual independence and social welfare are well developed. However, the British Select Committee on Medical Ethics, which reported on the state of palliative care in Holland, together with some Dutch doctors, have expressed the view that palliative care is not as advanced in Holland as it is in Britain. One view is that legalization of euthanasia can become an obstacle to improving palliative care. Given this relationship between palliative care and euthanasia, it is impossible to consider one without looking at both. In this paper, I examine this relationship with reference to the effects of the new legislation in the Netherlands.

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