Hospice Physician in the comments section of last Friday's post, helped me clarify my paraphrased definition of euthanasia.
"To address your quote below:
'when a medical practitioner directly brings about death by administering medicine to the patient'
This is true but to clarify even more, euthanasia is a deliberate act with the intention of causing death in a patient. There is an ethical principal called the "Rule of Double Effect" which states, a medical practitioner is not acting unethically by giving pain medication, for example, that may lead to death, if the intent is not to cause death but to relieve pain/shortness of breath or promote comfort."
'when a medical practitioner directly brings about death by administering medicine to the patient'
This is true but to clarify even more, euthanasia is a deliberate act with the intention of causing death in a patient. There is an ethical principal called the "Rule of Double Effect" which states, a medical practitioner is not acting unethically by giving pain medication, for example, that may lead to death, if the intent is not to cause death but to relieve pain/shortness of breath or promote comfort."
I'm always a fan of further clarity. Thanks Hospice Physician!
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