Fatal Choices and Flawed Decisions at the End of Life: Lessons from Israel

Cohen-Almagor, Raphael

Abstract

This article presents a recent disconcerting event that took place at a rehabilitative nursing home in Tel Aviv in light of Israel's Dying Patient Law, which came into effect in 2005. It probes the double effect doctrine as it is relevant to the case at hand and the role of the medical profession and of the family in making decisions at the end of life, and it argues that patients who express a wish to die should receive a comprehensive care assessment that addresses their physical and mental condition before rushing to provide lethal medication. The article concludes by offering some guidelines to help practitioners address the intricate questions they face when patients ask to die.

Citation

Cohen-Almagor, R. (2011). Fatal Choices and Flawed Decisions at the End of Life: Lessons from Israel. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 54(4), 578-594. https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2011.0037

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2011
• Publication Date: 2011
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Perspectives in biology and medicine
• Print ISSN: 0031-5982
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 578-594
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/pbm.2011.0037
• Keywords: History and Philosophy of Science; Health Policy; Issues, ethics and legal aspects; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/467168
• Publisher URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/perspectives_in_biology_and_medicine/v054/54.4.cohen-almagor.html
• Additional Information: Copy of an article first published in Perspectives in biology and medicine, v.54 issue 4
• Contract Date: Nov 13, 2014