Ethics in the Life Sciences – Expert reports by the DRZE; Volume 8
Carlo Grimm / Ingo Hillebrand

Published by the DRZE – German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences
under the responsibility of Dieter Sturma, Dirk Lanzerath and Bert Heinrichs

The question of euthanasia has established itself as one of the most controversial issues not only in specialized contexts of medical ethics but far beyond. Over the past few years, the cases of the patients Terri Schiavo and Eluana Englaro, who remained in a persistent vegetative state for several years, have drawn international attention.

Major advancements in intensive medical care for seriously ill persons have led to an increasing confrontation of people with the need to personally deal with the process of dying from an ethical perspective. This need arises in cases where dying persons explicitly express the wish to end their lives prematurely as well as in cases where the dying persons' ability to communicate is lost but a comparable wish to terminate their lives can be presumed based on good reasons.

As of yet, the ethical, legal and political debates about euthanasia have not yielded any solution on which consensus might be reached as regards particular maxims, which are to be implemented on a case-by-case basis in the assessment of assistance throughout the dying process or in achieving death. The present volume allocates the legal and ethical fundamentals for a judgement formation within the scope of euthanasia.

DOI: 10.23769/vka-2020-48345   open access

ISBN: 978-3-495-48345-9

Publisher: Verlag Karl Alber, Freiburg

Year of publication: 2009

Pages: 168

Language: German

The paperback is out of print.