Farsides Calliope
Course Director in Medical Ethics, Department of Philosophy, Keele University, Keele.
Int J Palliat Nurs. 1996 Apr 2;2(2):102-105. doi: 10.12968/ijpn.1996.2.2.102.
When faced with a request for euthanasia, carers should not immediately assume that this has been generated by a failure of care. It is possible to distinguish between those patients who can be helped to want to live again and those who cannot. Within the second group there will be individuals who choose euthanasia not because of psychological problems but because they consider it a rational choice, given who they are and how they have lived their lives. In dealing with such patients, carers must respect their decision, even when they are unable or unwilling to accede to it. Such respect is only possible in a context where people feel free to discuss and explore the possibility of euthanasia. If the institutional philosophy prevents this, a harm is done to those who believe that there is nothing wrong with euthanasia in principle, and that, in fact, it is right for them in practice.
当面对安乐死请求时，护理人员不应立即认定这是护理失误所致。可以区分出哪些患者能够被帮助重新燃起求生欲望，哪些患者则不能。在第二类患者中，会有一些人选择安乐死并非出于心理问题，而是因为鉴于他们的身份和生活方式，他们认为这是一个理性的选择。在对待这类患者时，护理人员必须尊重他们的决定，即便无法或不愿同意这一决定。只有在人们能够自由讨论和探究安乐死可能性的环境中，这种尊重才有可能实现。如果机构理念阻碍了这一点，那么对于那些认为安乐死在原则上并无不妥，且实际上对他们而言是正确选择的人来说，就是一种伤害。
