Author : Sigrid Sterckx
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107435080
Total Pages : 427 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (74 download)
Book Synopsis Continuous Sedation at the End of Life by : Sigrid Sterckx
Download or read book Continuous Sedation at the End of Life written by Sigrid Sterckx and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Continuous sedation until death (sometimes referred to as terminal sedation or palliative sedation) is an increasingly common practice in end-of-life care. However, it raises numerous medical, ethical, emotional and legal concerns, such as the reducing or removing of consciousness (and thus potentially causing 'subjective death'), the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration, the proportionality of the sedation to the symptoms, its adequacy in actually relieving symptoms rather than simply giving onlookers the impression that the patient is undergoing a painless 'natural' death, and the perception that it may be functionally equivalent to euthanasia. This book brings together contributions from clinicians, ethicists, lawyers and social scientists, and discusses guidelines as well as clinical, emotional and legal aspects of the practice. The chapters shine a critical spotlight on areas of concern and on the validity of the justifications given for the practice, including in particular the doctrine of double effect.