Good life, good death, and the right to die: ethical considerations for decisions at the end of life.

This article examines a range of ethically related concerns and considerations that must be addressed by health professionals and society as they grapple with how to make decisions about the type and degree of treatment to provide to patients at the ends of their lives. These considerations include (1) medical and nursing indications; (2) patient desires; (3) patient interests, including benefit/burden analysis and quality-of-life considerations; (4) family wishes and interests; and (5) costs. The article elaborates the ethical warrants and justifications for why these concerns need to be addressed in clinical decision making and in the development of a national health care policy. A substantial bibliography of current ethics literature on these issues is included.