van der Arend A J
University of Maastricht, Department of Health Care Ethics and Philosophy, The Netherlands.
Nurs Ethics. 1998 Jul;5(4):307-18. doi: 10.1177/096973309800500404.
In the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide are formally forbidden by criminal law, but, under certain strictly formulated conditions, physicians are excused for administering these to patients on the basis of necessity. These conditions are bound up with a long process of criteria development. Therefore, physicians still live in uncertainty. Future court decisions may change the criteria. Apart from that, physicians can always be prosecuted. The position of nurses, however, is perfectly clear; they are never allowed to administer euthanasia or assisted suicide. Nevertheless, they should be involved in the decision-making process because they are an important source of information and have consultation skills. The openness of the discussion about these issues in the Netherlands may prevent an escalation of medical or nursing responsibility and falling victim to the 'slippery slope'.
在荷兰，安乐死和协助自杀在刑法中被正式禁止，但在某些严格规定的条件下，医生可基于必要性为患者实施这些行为而免受处罚。这些条件与一个漫长的标准制定过程相关。因此，医生仍生活在不确定性之中。未来的法庭判决可能会改变这些标准。除此之外，医生总是有可能被起诉。然而，护士的立场却非常明确；他们绝不被允许实施安乐死或协助自杀。尽管如此，他们应该参与决策过程，因为他们是重要的信息来源且具备咨询技能。在荷兰，关于这些问题讨论的开放性可能会防止医疗或护理责任的升级以及成为“滑坡谬误”的牺牲品。
