Abstract
Among the paradoxes of societies facing the challenges of longevity, healthcare systems having to respond to needs for ‘assisted living’ as well as for assisted dying is one of the most striking one. In most countries, patients’ rights have been extended to endorse also the end of their lives and situations of mental incapacity. Statutory as well as common law has confirmed the validity of advance directives and legal powers of attorney. In some countries, assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia have been established as practices that can be performed when specific conditions are met, among them that patients are competent and offered effective palliative care.
Many papers have been published in Nursing Ethics over the years exploring nurses roles and attitudes in providing care at the edges of life, specifically in the context of medically assisted death. There is empirical evidence about the key roles nurses play in assessing wishes to die, assuring continuity of care and in assisting patients in clarifying their values when approaching their lives’ end. Given changes to, and attempts to change, legislation in different countries it is timely to reconsider the ethics of assisted dying and the implications for caring practices. For this special issue of Nursing Ethics, we invite authors to submit contributions that address conceptual, empirical and philosophical aspects of assisted dying in relation to nursing and other caring practices. Questions for exploration might include:
What is the role of patient autonomy when providing ‘assistance for living’ with chronic conditions, frailty or disabilities? How far is it comparable to situations in which assistance for dying is requested? What are the attitudes and values of nurses and how are they influenced by education, experience and framework conditions of the working field? What has been the impact of recent legislation on assisted death on attitudes and practices of nurses caring for patients requesting assistance for dying? How have national nursing bodies observed, monitored and influenced the legislative processes? What can be learned from this experience? How do nurses address, assess and respond to patients’ wishes to die in situations of life-limiting illness? How do these differ from situations of life-tiredness and old age and what follows from it from an ethical viewpoint? How do existing ethical guidelines address conflicts of conscience? And what weight should nursing ethics give to issues of assisted living and dying when thinking at the global challenges of preventable diseases that cannot be eased due to phenomena of political and economic discrimination?
For information regarding the submission process and notes for authors, see http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journals/Journal201821/manuscriptSubmission (check link)
Please submit via Manuscript Central with note to Editor stating clearly that submission is for Special Issue in 2016.