Ethical problems of palliative care in the period of its evolutionary transformation

• Authors: Iwaszczyszyn, J , Kliś-Kalinowska, A , Czekaj, J , Chmiel, I

Abstracts

EN

Our long-time experience in palliative care allowed us to notice changes in ethics of palliative medicine. In the handbook of palliative medicine, its authors R.G.Twycross and D.Frampton in 1995 did formulate the following ethical postulate: respect for life, acceptance of death of a patient as an unavoidable event, respect for a patient as a person, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice. In addition, they stressed prohibition of euthanasia as a rule. Nine years later, however, in the Oxford handbook of palliative care, its authors: M.S.Watson, C.T.Lukas, M.A.Hoy and J.N.Back described their ethical basis, which were slightly different but quite similar to those of T.L.Beauchamp and J.F.Childers: autonomy of a patient, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice and the trust. Their set of principles may induce controversy because of unlimited patient's autonomy and absence of physician's autonomy. Further, it may permit euthanasia, which is excluded by palliative medicine.

Keywords

EN

palliative care; ethics; euthanasia

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku
• Journal: Progress in Health Sciences
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 2
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 153-157

Contributors

author

Iwaszczyszyn, J

author

Kliś-Kalinowska, A

author

Czekaj, J

author

Chmiel, I