Advance decisions and proxy decision-making in medical treatment and research 13 November 2007 June 2007 This guidance covers the law and ethical issues involved in competent individuals making advance decisions about their later medical treatment and proxy decisions about medical treatment made by other people on behalf of adults who lack mental capacity. When they are mentally competent, patients decide for themselves whether or not to accept the medical treatments recommended by health professionals. This guidance is about what happens when that mental ability to make a valid decision is lost.
Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions has today said that, while there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction of Mark and Julie James in relation to the death by suicide of their son Daniel, such a prosecution is not in the public interest and no further action should be taken either against them or against a family friend who assisted them.
In de liturgisch-pastorale praktijk wordt men geconfronteerd met de vraag in hoeverre sacramentenbediening en kerkelijke uitvaartplechtigheden mogelijk zijn in geval van euthanasie en suïcide. Deze vragen hebben niet alleen betrekking op degene die zelf om euthanasie vraagt of op wie suïcide pleegt, maar ook op omstaanders die hebben ingestemd, resp. medewerking verleend. De Nederlandse bisschoppen hebben in oktober 2005 de brochure "Pastoraat rond het verzoek om euthanasie of hulp bij suïcide. Een handreiking voor studie en bezinning" uitgegeven. Daarin geven zij naast een aantal overwegingen bijgaande liturgisch-pastorale richtlijnen.
The present paper constitutes the input of Alzheimer Europe and its member organisations to the ongoing discussions within Europe about advance directives (in the context of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia). It is the result of discussions carried out in a multidisciplinary group, comprising experts in the field of psychiatry, neurology, pharmacology, psychology, law and ethics, in collaboration with the Board of Alzheimer Europe and its member associations. Please see Annex 1 for the list of participants of the working group. Alzheimer Europe’s position on advance directives was guided by several general principles and was influenced by principles contained in pre-existing European or international documents. Please refer to section D for details. On the basis of these principles and of a review of current literature concerning issues linked to the use of advance directives, Alzheimer Europe has developed the following position with regard to advance directives.
The first-hand experiences of physicians from coast to coast vividly illuminated a paucity of available palliative care, a simmering health-care crisis in Canada as the baby boomer generation enters old age. The association's members had come together on Tuesday to debate whether to revise the current CMA policy on euthanasia and assisted death. The session ended with an overwhelming vote — 90 per cent — in favour of an advisory resolution that supports "the right of all physicians, within the bonds of existing legislation, to follow their conscience when deciding whether to provide so-called medical aid in dying." The CMA defines "medical aid in dying" as, essentially, euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.