The Moral Difference or Equivalence Between Continuous Sedation Until Death and Physician-Assisted Death: Word Games or War Games?: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Opinion Pieces in the Indexed Medical and Nursing Literature

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry

Volumn 9, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 171-183

  Rys, Sam ^a,b   Deschepper, Reginald ^a,b   Mortier, Freddy ^b,c   Deliens, Luc ^b,d   Atkinson, Douglas ^b   Bilsen, Johan ^a,b  

^a FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY   (Belgium)

^b VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL   (Belgium)

^c GHENT UNIVERSITY   (Belgium)

^d VU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

Deep sedation; Euthanasia; Palliative care; Terminal care

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; ASSISTED SUICIDE; DEEP SEDATION; ETHICS; HUMAN; MORALITY; PALLIATIVE THERAPY; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; SEMANTICS; SYMBOLISM; TERMINAL CARE;

DEEP SEDATION; HUMANS; MORALS; PALLIATIVE CARE; QUALITATIVE RESEARCH; SEMANTICS; SUICIDE, ASSISTED; SYMBOLISM; TERMINAL CARE;

EID: 84860882307     PISSN: 11767529     EISSN: 18724353     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11673-012-9369-8     Document Type: Article

References (45)

1. Battin, M. P. 2008. Terminal sedation: Pulling the sheet over our eyes. The Hastings Center Report 38(5): 27-30.
2. Benton, T. J. 2006. Pain management is part of advance directives discussion. American Family Physician 73(8): 1331-1332.
3. Berger, J. T. 2010. Rethinking guidelines for the use of palliative sedation. The Hastings Center Report 40(3): 32-38.
4. Bernard, H. R., and G. Ryan. 2010. Analyzing qualitative data: Systematic approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
5. Billings, J. A., and S. D. Block. 1996. Slow euthanasia. Journal of Palliative Care 12(4): 21-30.
6. Boal, J. S., and P. T. Smith. 2009. Line, please. The Hastings Center Report 39(2): 7-8.
7. Bourdieu, P. 1988. Vive la crise! For heterodoxy in social science. Theory and Science 17(5): 773-787.
8. Bourdieu, P. 1989. Social space and symbolic power. Sociological Theory 7(1): 14-25.
9. Braun, T. C., N. A. Hagen, and T. Clark. 2003. Development of a clinical practice guideline for palliative sedation. Journal of Palliative Medicine 6(3): 345-350.
10. Brody, H. 1996. Commentary on Billings and Block's "Slow euthanasia." Journal of Palliative Care 12(4): 38-41.
11. Broeckaert, B., A. Mullie, J. Gielen, M. Desmet, P. Vanden Berghe, Stuurgroep Ethiek FPZV [Ethics Commission Federation Palliative Care Flanders]. 2010. Richtlijn palliatieve sedatie [Palliative sedation guideline]. http://www. pallialine. be/template. asp?f=rl_sedatie. htm#page=page-1. Accessed May 29, 2011.
12. Carver, A. C., and K. Foley. 2000. The Wein article reviewed. Oncology 14(4): 598-601.
13. Cherny, N. I., and L. Radbruch. 2009. European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) recommended framework for the use of sedation in palliative care. Palliative Medicine 23(7): 581-593.
14. Committee on National Guideline for Palliative Sedation, Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG). 2009. Guideline for palliative sedation. Utrecht: Royal Dutch Medical Association. http://knmg.artsennet.nl/web/file?uuid=d57c9dec-49d3-43a2-9c4d-1b15005c615c&owner=a8a9ce0e-f42b-47a5-960e-be08025b7b04&contentid=66977. Accessed February 29, 2012.
15. Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. 2008. Sedation to unconsciousness in end-of-life care. CEJA Report 5-A-08. http://www. ama-assn. org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/code-medical-ethics/2201a. pdf. Accessed April 17, 2011.
16. Craig, G. 2005. Sedation without hydration can seriously damage your health. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 11(7): 333-334.
17. Davis, M. P., and P. A. Ford. 2005. Palliative sedation definition, practice, outcomes, and ethics. Journal of Palliative Medicine 8(4): 699-701.
18. de Graeff, A., and M. Dean. 2007. Palliative sedation therapy in the last weeks of life: A literature review and recommendations for standards. Journal of Palliative Medicine 10(1): 67-85.
19. Durante, C. 2009. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of palliation: Re-evaluating Ronald Lindsay's evaluation of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. The American Journal of Bioethics 9(3): 28-29.
20. Gillick, M. R. 2004. Terminal sedation: An acceptable exit strategy? Annals of Internal Medicine 141(3): 236-237.
21. Glick, S. M. 2004. Terminal sedation in the Netherlands. Annals of Internal Medicine 141(12): 966-967.
22. Graneheim, U. H., and B. Lundman. 2004. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today 24(2): 105-112.
23. Hawryluck, L. A., W. R. Harvey, L. Lemieux-Charles, and P. A. Singer. 2002. Consensus guidelines on analgesia and sedation in dying intensive care unit patients. BMC Medical Ethics 3(August 12): 3.
24. Hemmings, G., F. C. Salevsky, P. A. Sloan, et al. 1993. Anaesthetists and the right to die. Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia 40(1): 78-79.
25. Janssens, R. M. J. P. A., G. Olthuis, and W. Dekkers. 2005. Terminal sedation and dehydration go hand in hand. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 11(7): 334-335.
26. Juth, N., A. Lindblad, N. Lynoe, M. Sjostrand, and G. Helgesson. 2010. European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) framework for palliative sedation: An ethical discussion. BMC Palliative Care 9(September 13): 20.
27. Kirk, T. W., and M. M. Mahon. 2010. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) position statement and commentary on the use of palliative sedation in imminently dying terminally ill patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 39(5): 914-923.
28. Kompanje, E. J. 2003. End-of-life practices in European intensive care units. Journal of the American Medical Association 290(22): 2938-2939.
29. Leeman, C. P. 2002. Physician-assisted death. The New England Journal of Medicine 347(13): 1041-1043.
30. Maltoni, M. 2003. From Italy. Palliative Medicine 17(2): 139-140.
31. Miccinesi, G., J. A. Rietjens, L. Deliens, et al. 2006. Continuous deep sedation: Physicians' experiences in six European countries. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 31(2): 122-129.
32. Morita, T., S. Bito, Y. Kurihara, and Y. Uchitomi. 2005. Development of a clinical guideline for palliative sedation therapy using the Delphi method. Journal of Palliative Medicine 8(4): 716-729.
33. Mount, B. 1996. Morphine drips, terminal sedation, and slow euthanasia: Definitions and facts, not anecdotes. Journal of Palliative Care 12(4): 31-37.
34. National Ethics Committee, Veterans Health Administration. 2006. The ethics of palliative sedation as a therapy of last resort. The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care 23(6): 483-491.
35. Quill, T. E. 1993. The ambiguity of clinical intentions. The New England Journal of Medicine 329(14): 1039-1040.
36. Rietjens, J. A., A. van der Heide, A. M. Vrakking, B. D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen, P. J. van der Maas, and G. van der Wal. 2004. Physician reports of terminal sedation without hydration or nutrition for patients nearing death in the Netherlands. Annals of Internal Medicine 141(3): 178-185.
37. Rousseau, P. 2001. Existential suffering and palliative sedation: A brief commentary with a proposal for clinical guidelines. The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care 18(3): 151-153.
38. Rousseau, P. 2002. Careful conversation about care at the end of life. Annals of Internal Medicine 137(12): 1008-1010.
39. Salacz, M. E., and D. E. Weissman. 2005. Controlled sedation for refractory suffering: Part I. Journal of Palliative Medicine 8(1): 136-137.
40. Strauss, A., and J. Corbin. 1990. Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, Inc.
41. Swartz, D. 1997. Culture and power: The sociology of Pierre Bourdieu. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
42. Thorns, A. 2002. Sedation, the doctrine of double effect and the end of life. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 8(7): 341-343.
43. Tonelli, M. R. 1998. Terminal sedation. The New England Journal of Medicine 338(17): 1230-1231.
44. van Delden, J. J. 2007. Terminal sedation: Source of a restless ethical debate. Journal of Medical Ethics 33(4): 187-188.
45. Wein, S. 2000. Sedation in the imminently dying patient. Oncology (Williston Park, N. Y.) 14(4): 585-592.