In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Carter decision that the prohibitions against physician-assisted dying, as outlined in section 241(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada, were unconstitutional as they violated an individual’s s.7 rights as outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Though the jurisprudence of this landmark decision and subsequent amendments to Canadian law are interesting in and of themselves, what is particularly interesting about Carter is the framework within which physician-assisted dying is conceptualized. The Court shifts from a religiously informed framework for conceptualizing assisted suicide to a non-religious conceptualization of physician-assisted dying. Given that there remains much to be explored about nonreligion, this thesis asks: how is ‘nonreligion’ constructed by law in relation to physician-assisted dying in Canada? Since the Carter decision is not explicitly about religion or nonreligion the analysis in this thesis maps how the concepts life, death, and morality are reconceptualized. The analysis reveals that nonreligion is a phenomenon that is absent of the transcendent and is instead given positive content through a focus on autonomy. The conceptualization of nonreligion as presented in this thesis contributes to the literature that emphasizes that nonreligion is both positive and meaningful and not simply deficit terminology.

Physician assisted suicide (PAS) has been a legalized presence in the United States since Oregon first passed the Death with Dignity Act in 1994. Now PAS is legalized in six states and it is realistic that nurses may encounter PAS during their career. This project explores pre-licensure nursing student attitudes toward PAS. A mixed method design incorporating descriptive correlation and thematic analysis of an open-ended question was used. Surveys were sent to 550 nursing students enrolled in the UCF nursing program asking participants to complete the 34-question survey. This survey included a 12 item “Domino scale” on student nursing opinions toward physician-assisted suicide, and a 23-item demographic scale. Complete, usable results were obtained from 231 participants. Demographic data revealed that the typical participant was between 18 and 25 years of age (80%), female (82%), single (87%), white (69%), in their first two semesters of the nursing program (60%), and unemployed (56%). The total scores for the Domino scale indicated a mean of 40. Regression analyses found that participant experience of someone having asked for help with PAS, and participant religiosity were significant predictors (F = 9.82, p = .0019; and F= 160.36, p < .0001) respectively of nursing student opinions on PAS as measured by the Domino scale. Qualitative analysis produced the following themes related to participant opinion on the nurse’s role in PAS: ways nurses can help with PAS, nurses should not be involved with PAS, clarification and delineation of the PAS process, the preservation of autonomy, the need for more education and inaccurate assumptions of PAS. This study showed that nursing students are moderately in support of PAS and willing to provide care to patients who are terminally ill regardless of a his or her personal decisions regarding PAS. Participants also comment that they desire additional education. Suggestions for further education, practice enhancements, research and policy development are discussed.