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Commentary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2001

Gerrit Kimsma
Affiliation:
Departments of Family and Nursing Home Medicine and Philosophy and Medical Ethics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Abstract

This case is both an excellent as well as a sad illustration of the complexities, intensities, and foibles of the issue of “helping” sick people to die. Although the reaction expressed here is that of a student, it is also, sadly, the reaction of many an experienced physician in being emotional, irrational, and hasty. The description is a perfect example of the student's dilemma: “I would like to help but I can't because to do so would threaten my position”—altruism versus egocentric motivation.

Type
WARD ETHICS
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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