Emanuel E J
Division of Cancer Control and Epidemiology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Mass.
Arch Intern Med. 1994 Sep 12;154(17):1890-901. doi: 10.1001/archinte.154.17.1890.
Debates about the ethics of euthanasia date from ancient Greece and Rome. In 1870, S. D. Williams, a nonphysician, proposed that anesthetics be used to intentionally end the lives of patients. Between 1870 and 1936, a debate about the ethics of euthanasia raged in the United States and Britain. These debates predate and invoke different arguments than do debates about euthanasia in Germany. Recognizing the increased interest in euthanasia, this article reviews the definitions related to euthanasia, the historical record of debates concerning euthanasia, the arguments for and against euthanasia, the situation in the Netherlands, and the empirical data regarding euthanasia in the United States.
关于安乐死伦理的辩论可追溯到古希腊和罗马时期。1870年，非医生S.D.威廉姆斯提议使用麻醉剂故意结束患者生命。1870年至1936年间，美国和英国就安乐死伦理展开了激烈辩论。这些辩论比德国关于安乐死的辩论更早出现，且涉及不同的论点。鉴于人们对安乐死的兴趣日益浓厚，本文回顾了与安乐死相关的定义、关于安乐死辩论的历史记录、支持和反对安乐死的论点、荷兰的情况以及美国关于安乐死的实证数据。
