Nurses, Dying, and Who Gets to Decide
by Ramon Peco/via Flickr
On Wednesday, a California court declared the state’s right-to-die law unconstitutional. The End of Life Act (AB-15) was passed in 2016 in a special session called by Governor Gerry Brown, and permitted physicians to prescribe medications to a patient “for the sole purpose of ending his or her life.” California was one of just a handful of states that had such legislation. Reports note that an appeal is likely.
And also last week, Australian scientist and right-to-die advocate David Goodall, who was 104 years old, flew to Basel, Switzerland, to take advantage of its right-to-die law and end his life. According to the New York Times, Goodall, whose health had been deteriorating since a fall, said, “One wants to be free to choose his death when death is at the appropriate time.” Mr. Goodall lamented that his home country didn’t allow him to die there.
An ongoing debate.
These events last week underscore the struggle over whether people have a right to choose to end their lives and who should decide that. It’s also why we are very pleased to highlight this important topic in the current issue of AJN.
In “Assisted Suicide/Aid in Dying: What Is the Nurse’s Role?”, ethicist Ann Hamric and colleagues report […]
