Battin M P
J Pain Symptom Manage. 1991 Jul;6(5):298-305. doi: 10.1016/0885-3924(91)90053-7.
Although the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States are alike in having aging populations who die primarily of deteriorative diseases, they face end-of-life dilemmas quite differently. In the United States, withholding and withdrawing of treatment are the only legally recognized means for easing dying. In Holland, voluntary active euthanasia is also practiced; in (West) Germany, assisted suicide is a legal option, usually outside the medical setting. This paper examines objections to these three practices, and observes the differences in the background cultures. Rather than reliance on any of the three, it argues that physician-assisted suicide in terminal illness is the practice most compatible with the United States' special characteristics.
尽管荷兰、德国和美国在人口老龄化且主要死于退行性疾病这方面有相似之处，但它们在临终困境上面临的情况却大不相同。在美国，停止和撤销治疗是唯一得到法律认可的减轻痛苦的方式。在荷兰，也实行自愿安乐死；在（西）德，协助自杀是一种合法选择，通常不在医疗环境中进行。本文审视了对这三种做法的反对意见，并观察了背景文化中的差异。它主张，与这三种做法中的任何一种相比，晚期疾病中的医生协助自杀是最符合美国特点的做法，而不是依赖这三种做法中的任何一种。
