Thesis (M.A.)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes older adults (65 years and older) have towards euthanasia. The subjects of the study were people 65 years of age and older who reside in homes for the aged within the Cape Metropolis. An equal number of subjects from the African, Coloured and European communities were randomly selected. A biographical questionnaire as well as the Euthanasia Attitude Scale and the Purpose In Life Test, were administered. The influence of four variables were focused on, namely age, ethnicity, meaning in life and health. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and one-way ANOV A analysis were used. Ethnicity, meaning in life and health were not found to have a significant correlation with euthanasia. Age was the only variable found to have a significant correlation with euthanasia. The findings were discussed and certain recommendations were made. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om vas te stel wat die houding van ouer volwassenes (65 jaar en ouer) is ten opsigte van genadedood. Die proefpersone was almalouer as 65 jaar en woonagtig in ouetehuise binne die Kaapse Metropool. 'n Gelyke aantal proefpersone van die Afrika, Kleurling en Europese gemeenskappe is willekeurig gekies. 'n Biografiese vraelys, asook die "Euthanasia Attitude Scale" en "Purpose In Life Test", is gebruik. Die invloed van vier veranderlikes, naamlik: ouderdom, kultuur, betekenis in die lewe en gesondheid, is ondersoek. Pearson korrelasionele koëffisiënt en een-rigting ANOV A ontledings is gebruik. Etnisiteit, betekenis in die lewe en gesondheid het nie beduidend met genadedood gekorreleer nie, ouderdom was die enigste veranderlike wat beduidend met genadedood gekorreleer het. Die bevindinge is bespreek en sekere aanbevelings is gemaak.

Ethnically diverse older adults are the fastest growing population in the U.S. This population may experience transitional processes associated with immigration, acculturation, aging, and end of life (EOL). Advances in technology lead to increases in care options, which can cause uncertainty to make decisions for EOL. Unmade decisions about care prior to becoming unable to communicate are associated with burdens of last-minute decisions at EOL, unwanted intensive EOL treatments for people who may die naturally of old age, financial and emotional costs, and decreased quality of life. In the U.S., a multicultural country with a variety of care options, advance directive (AD) completion and advance care planning (ACP) may improve culturally competent and person-centered care at EOL. However, the rate of AD completion and ACP is low among Americans, especially immigrant communities. These communities, including Iranian-American older adults, have been frequently understudied, and there is a gap in studies of EOL desires, attitudes, and actions/behaviors. This inquiry focused on planning ahead for EOL care across transitional processes that older immigrants may face. The aim was to enhance culturally competent care for older adults through distinguishing significant factors, which may influence planning for EOL care. Specific purposes were: To identify relationships between attitudes toward planning for EOL care and social supports, spirituality, healthcare system distrust, and acculturation; to identify a relationship between attitudes and proactive actions toward planning ahead in Iranian-American older adults. Conceptual frameworks for this descriptive, cross-sectional study included Culture Care Diversity and Universality and Transitions theories. Findings from 135 participants revealed that they were new immigrants to the U.S. (mean year of 23 in the U.S., 97% born in Iran) and highly educated and insured with high health statuses. About 55% preferred non-intensive treatments and/or homecare at EOL, and 52.6% had not communicated their EOL wishes. Attitudes toward planning ahead for EOL were positively associated with acculturation and healthcare system distrust, and negatively associated with spirituality. No significant association was found between attitudes and social support. Furthermore, favorable attitudes predicted higher proactive actions to communicate wishes. Implications for practice, policy, education, and recommendations for further studies were discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis argues that the topic of active voluntary euthanasia (AVE) has been significantly neglected in existing political studies research, despite the fact that AVE reform raises fundamental questions about the scope and application of political authority. While this is predominantly a politics thesis in its focus, the thesis also draws when necessary on the broader scholarly literature on AVE, including literature fields such as ethics, as well as on broader public debate and the views of politicians. The thesis also examines, and engages with, the views of relevant traditional and contemporary political theorists including John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham, and Amitai Etzioni. Whilst it will be acknowledged that liberal and utilitarian principles have helped shape and inform the AVE reform debate, and have useful contributions to offer, it is maintained that neither of these approaches provide a suitably comprehensive guide to policy. The thesis argues that communitarianism’s emphasis upon the communal good provides an indispensable counterbalance to potential problems that can arise with some other approaches, including excessive individualism and the uncertainties of moral subjectivism. More particularly, it is suggested that without an ongoing commitment to the principles of self restraint and ‘other regarding’ beneficence, legalised euthanasia could pose a serious threat to the welfare of vulnerable citizens. This is a point of view that is also expressed by many religious critics of AVE and it is argued that pro-choice advocates have relied unduly upon the separation of Church and State principle to deflect a legitimate criticism. Although it is conceded that a commitment to secular liberal–democratic principles is at odds with a legislative prohibition against the popularly endorsed option of last resort (beneficent) AVE it is, nevertheless, maintained that the concerns of these and other critics should not be ignored. Indeed, an examination of various case studies highlights the importance of ensuring a balance between individual autonomy and adequate legislative safeguards. Case studies examined include John Ashcroft’s controlled substances intervention in Oregon, US Congressional action to preserve the life of persistent vegetative state patient Terri Schiavo and Australian anti-suicide / active euthanasia legislation, particularly the Northern Territory’s Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. The conclusion of the thesis not only pulls together the key arguments regarding AVE but also highlights the insights which the AVE debate can provide for understanding broader issues in political theory and practice, particularly in regard to the rights of the individual and the responsibility of the state to legislate for the collective good. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2008

The legitimating of euthanasia raise the conflict of private and social interests. While raising the autonomy and wealth of individual as an ideal order to every state in the society of the second half of twentieth century people felt, that they have a right to carry out their decisions related to their as well as to the other individual’s way of death. In 1996 in Lithuania the legislation which gave the right to the patient to reject the treatment was adopted which is why now in our country we can also raise the question whether the right to choose the treatment is not enough liberal to call it the right to choose death.

Civil Liability in the Case of Disrespecting a Patient's Advance Directives The aim of this thesis is to analyse and describe the problematic of Civil Liability in the specific case of disrespecting a patient's advance directives by a medical. The institute of Advance Directives was first introduced in the Czech law by the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine in 2001 and later by the Law No. 372/2011 Coll., Act on Health Care Provision. Thought the Advance Directives cannot be considered as a new institute in the Czech law, it is hardly ever used in practice. There is no judicature and practical knowledge on the topic of civil liability in this case, and the insecurity causes that doctors do not feel like willing to respect the exceptionally occurring advance directives, because they fear the criminal liability they think that could arise if they did not provide the health care necessary for saving life of their patient. This thesis is trying to highline the importance of a patient's will. Meanwhile, it is pointing to the fact that even saving a patient's life can cause legal liability of a doctor. The thesis is primarily analysing and describing such liability within the general provisions on liability in the Czech Law and is also trying to give an insight to the problematic of potential...

This dissertation aims to examine and analyse the current South African position with regard to voluntary euthanasia. An examination is made from constitutional law, common law, case law and statutory law perspectives, including the legislation proposed by the South African Law Commission (project 86). The writings of prominent authors are considered. Once the South African position is examined, a comparative study is undertaken concerning relevant aspects in the Dutch law. The most important findings are that the South African Constitution may allow, and perhaps even demand, the legalization of voluntary euthanasia in South Africa, provided that sufficient safeguards can be established to effectively and sufficiently minimize the risk of abuse. Should this be impossible, the proscription of euthanasia may be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom. Finally, some recommendations are made for changes to the South African Law Commission’s Final Draft Bill. / Dissertation (LLM (Medical Law))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Public Law / unrestricted

No previous study has attempted to clarify and articulate administrator attitudes regarding DNR orders in the school setting. Administrative school staff are responsible for development and implementation of school policy therefore understanding administrators' attitudes would assist discussion and decision making related to DNR orders in the school setting.

Thesis (LLM (Private Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / End of life decisions regarding defective babies raise several controversial questions. The root of the problem in withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment from defective babies lies in the conflict between human emotions, technological advancements and legal considerations. As a result of advances in medical science and neonatal technology, the lives of defective babies can often be saved or indefinitely prolonged. The question has become not whether we can treat these babies, but rather whether we should. Whether or not a defective baby’s life must be prolonged raises serious moral and ethical issues. A life compromised by severe physical and mental handicaps is weighed against an early and painless death. The best interest of the baby is the primary consideration from a legal point of view. Various factors must be taken into account to give content to this concept. Another central question is to determine who the decision maker(s) should be and what weight should be given to their opinions. Due to the fact that defective babies can not participate in this decision making process or communicate their wishes and preferences, surrogate decision makers must decide on their behalf. In sharp contrast to England, America and Canada, there is hardly any literature and no reported case law in South Africa to demonstrate the complexity of end of life decisions regarding defective babies. Selective non-treatment of defective babies have received little attention in the South African law. The Bill of Rights, inspired by regional and international Conventions determine the framework from a juristic perspective wherein decisions must be made and justified. This framework requires that the focus must be on the most vulnerable and dependant, namely the defective baby.

This thesis defends an individual's moral right to be aided in dying by a physician (that is, voluntary active euthanasia, or VAE), but departs significantly from the view in its favor generally accepted in the bioethics literature. The prevailing view appeals to both respect for an individual's autonomy and promotion of an individual's well-being as necessary conditions for a right to VAE, so as to justify the right only for those suffering grave illnesses and/or disabilities. The author argues that such a view is logically untenable; one or another aspect must be given up. Since invoking the premise that certain individuals would be better off dead necessarily relies on controversial assumptions about both the value of life and the nature and value of death, about which reasonable people disagree, it is the justification from an individual's best interest which must be excluded in a liberal society. The author endorses a self-determination justification for the right to VAE, but rejects understanding this in terms of respecting personal autonomy, instead making the case for a right to VAE grounded in self-ownership. The author's main conclusion is that the right to VAE is a general right applying to all competent adults, not only those suffering grave illnesses or disabilities, or those whose choice for VAE is an exercise of autonomy. Moreover, by analyzing the basis of physician authority over prescription medicine and how this can be justified to a society of self-owners, she maintains that individuals have not only the right to choose VAE without state interference, but also the right to be provided VAE by doctors. Nevertheless, both rights are compatible with reasonable limitations to protect both the interests of VAE seekers and the rights of others.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / African Americans' tendency to choose life-prolonging treatments (LPT) over comfort focused care (CFC) at end-of-life is well documented but poorly understood. There is minimal knowledge about African American (AA) perceptions of decisions to continue or discontinue LPT. The purpose of this study was to examine AA family members' perceptions of factors that influenced end-of-life care decision-making for a relative who recently died from serious illness. A conceptual framework informed by the literature and the Ottawa Decision Support Framework was developed to guide this study. A retrospective, mixed methods design combined quantitative and qualitative descriptive approaches. Forty-nine bereaved AA family members of AA decedents with serious illness who died between 2 to 6 months prior to enrollment participated in a one-time telephone interview. Outcomes examined include end-of-life treatment decision, decision regret, and decisional conflict. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent-sample t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square tests, Spearman and Pearson correlations, and linear and logistic regressions. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and qualitative descriptive methods. Family members' decisional conflict scores were negatively correlated with their quality of general communication (rs = -.503, p = .000) and end-of-life communication scores (rs = -.414, p = .003). There was a significant difference in decisional regret scores between family members of decedents who received CFC versus those who received LPT (p = .030). Family members' quality of general communication (p = .030) and end-of-life communication (p = .014) were significant predictors of family members' decisional conflict scores. Qualitative themes related to AA family members' experiences in end-of-life decision-making included understanding (e.g., feeling prepared or unprepared for death), relationships with healthcare providers (e.g., being shown care, distrust) and the quality of communication (e.g., being informed, openness, and inadequate information). Additional qualitative themes were related to perceptions of the decision to continue LPT (e.g., a lack of understanding, believe will benefit) or discontinue LPT (e.g., patient preferences, desire to prevent suffering). In conclusion, this study generated new knowledge of the factors that influenced AA bereaved family members' end-of-life decision-making for decedents with serious illnesses. Directions for future research were identified.