Resource Tag: ENCOURAGEMENT OF SUICIDE

The author investigates the issue of abuse in the debate over volunatry active euthanasia. She focuses on two central questions regarding the legalization of aid-in-dying: 1) Will there be abuse, & if so, precisely what kind?; 2) Can abuse of this sort be prevented? In exploring these questions, she considers the possible effects of legalizing […]

Research is reviewed on family risk factors for youth suicidal behaviors. Significant family circumstances closely linked with adolescent suicidal behaviors are discussed, as are factors more stongly associated with completed suicide than with other suicidal symptoms. Areas for future research are suggested. (125 refs)

The author examines the argument that legalization of voluntary euthanasia would cause the right to die to become a duty to die due to the pressure or moral blackmail that patients would be subjected to. The premises on which this argument is based are considered, as is the argument constitutes an objection. The author explores […]

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Provides a brief commentary on the question of whether the health care community should be authorized to assist in the suicide of those physically unable to take their own lives. Reviews the arguments for why this form of assisted suicide should not be permitted.

This article presents a slippery slope argument against the legalization of assisted suicide. The core of the argument is that legalization of physician-assisted suicide will result in a number of actions contributing to widespread belief that suicide is a duty in a variety of common circumstances. The essay contends that widespread belief is a good […]

In September 1998 the German Medical Association published new principles concerning terminal medical care. Even before publication, a draft of these principles was very controversial and prompted intense public debate in the mass media. Despite some of the critics’ suspicions that the principles prepared the way for liberalization of active euthanasia, euthanasia is unequivocally rejected […]

This paper discusses the internet resources on suicide & the issue of interactive notes. Case examples of interactive notes followed by suicide fatalities are used to illustrate the potential influence of the internet on those who wish to share their suicidal ideation with others. Issues to do with modeling, ambivalence, group death wishes, research, and […]

This article discusses witchcraft, scapegoating & suicide. The author asserts that some people may engage in suicidal behavior in order to prove their innocence to the community, accepting the likelihood that they may die as a result. An interpretation of this suicidal behavior as a means of escape from social stigma & ostracization is included. […]

This article describes Roger, a 60-year-old married male, in outpatient psychotherapy. Diagnoses: dysthymic disorder (Axis I) & obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (Axis II). Present problems: relationship to parents & an euthanasia plan for his father. Comment “A” by Roger’s therapist focus on the Tarasoff precedent & the need to warn the father & police. Comment “B” […]

Advocates use case description to show that euthanasia or assisted suicide is sometimes justifiable. This article shows that even the clearest case can prove deeply troubling. In assessing the Dutch television film, “Death on Request,” it concludes that doctor & wife took the patient’s personhood before disease claimed it. (Also see AN 950152 for film […]

Schneiderman et al tested the argument that the legalization of euthanasia could induce the terminally ill to seek to shorten their life in order not to burden others (see SIEC #940947). Ubel & Arnold pose 3 questions to analyze the conclusions that Schneiderman & his colleagues reached: 1) does their data prove this argument is […]

Nurses have valuable perspectives to add to the discussion of ethical questions associated with end-of-life decision-making. The potential for poor decision-making & for discrimmination against vulnerable groups, makes legalized euthanasia & assisted suicide dangerous. Differences between cessation of treatment, euthanasia & assisted suicide are looked at. Strategies designed to ensure optimal care for the dying […]

Public opinion polls show that a growing majority support euthanasia. Medical workers think that active euthanasia should remain illegal despite supporting withdrawal of treatment at a patient’s request. There is potential for corruption with euthanasia. A high proportion of caregivers for the terminally ill are worried about an erosion of patient trust should euthanasia become […]

In these letters to the editor, Krugman & Greenbaum comment on an article by Jacobsen et al on interviewing prepubertal children about suicidal ideation & behaviours. Krugman questions why researchers do not ask about the relationship of child abuse & prepubertal suicide. Greenbaum suggests that parents of suicidal children are often desirous of the suicide […]

This article reviews cultural values associated with beliefs about assisted suicide, the experiences of others nations, including The Netherlands, with assisted suicide, & the “slippery slopes” inherent in the legitimization of physician-assisted suicide. (44 refs.)

This article reports responses of 132 seriously ill patients (AIDS & Cancer) who were asked how long they would want to live, & what percentage of life savings they would be willing to spend, if their treatment left them totally dependent on family & friends for daily care. Based on study data, the authors believe […]

This chapter proposes a general model that can be applied tothe suicidogenic contexts of the elderly. Cases illustrate alternatives to suicide in the contexts of health & body integrity, &, isolation & loneliness. Other suicidogenic contexts include loss of control, flunking life’s exam, & lifting the burder from others. Other alternatives include symbolic-substitute actions, externalizing […]

In this editorial, Higgins discusses what legalizing assisted suicide will mean to physicians. He asks questions about the effect of legalization on the patient-doctor relationship, & the effect of killing upon the physician & the physician’s family. He asks who will protect patients from relatives who subtly pressure them to ask for assisted suicide. Higgins […]

Factors that seem crucial to effective ministry to the aging, the ill & the dying are discussed in the chapter. The range of patient responses to illness & dying, related suicide demgraphics, as well as a minister’s personal theological formulation about suicide are discussed. In reviewing personal responses to the dying, the author notes that […]