Evaluating the American Nurses Association's arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide

Nursing Ethics
Eric Vogelstein

Abstract

This discussion paper critically assesses the American Nurses Association's stated arguments against nurse participation in assisted suicide, as found in its current (2013) position statement. Seven distinct arguments can be gleaned from the American Nurses Association's statement, based on (1) the American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics with Interpretive Statements and its injunction against nurses acting with the sole intent to end life, (2) the risks of abuse and misuse of assisted suicide, (3) nursing's social contract or covenant with society, (4) the contention that nurses must not harm their patients, (5) the sanctity of life, (6) the traditions of nursing, and (7) the fundamental goals of nursing. Each of these arguments is evaluated, and none are found to be convincing. This is crucial because the American Nurses Association's official stance on nurse participation in assisted suicide can have significant consequences for the well-being of nurses who care for patients in jurisdictions in which assisted suicide is legally available. The American Nurses Association should therefore have a strong and convincing justification for opposing the practice, if it is to take such a position. That it fails to evince such a j...Continue Reading

References

Nov 19, 1997·Nursing Outlook·B J DalyK Montgomery
Dec 11, 1997·The New England Journal of Medicine·T E QuillD W Brock
Jun 23, 1999·Journal of Professional Nursing : Official Journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing·B C White, J Zimbelman
Jun 23, 1999·Journal of Professional Nursing : Official Journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing·B C White
Oct 20, 2001·Ethics·Judith Jarvis Thomson
Mar 22, 2002·The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics : a Journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics·Carl H Coleman
May 30, 2006·Journal of Medical Ethics·E Dahl, N Levy

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Citations

Nov 30, 2021·Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing : JHPN : the Official Journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association·Judy E DavidsonYoung-Shin Lee

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