Abstract
Palliative Care Versus Euthanasia. The German Position: the German General Medical Council’s Principles for Medical Care of the Terminally ill
Sahm S
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 in the principles. Physician-assisted suicide is considered to violate professional medical rules. In leaving aside some of the notions customarily used in the euthanasia debate, e.g., passive euthanasia, the principles emphasize the obligation of physicians to offer and the right of patients to receive palliative care. (37 refs)