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The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France
Dignity is one of the most controversial and yet commonly used terms in debates regarding end-of-life issues. The term “dignity” can take various meanings. For example, it can be used to denote the respect owed to an individual person, or to signify the intrinsic value of humankind as a whole. These...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2016
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5355899/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27348825 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0963180116000050 |
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author | HORN, RUTH KERASIDOU, ANGELIKI |
author_facet | HORN, RUTH KERASIDOU, ANGELIKI |
author_sort | HORN, RUTH |
collection | PubMed |
description | Dignity is one of the most controversial and yet commonly used terms in debates regarding end-of-life issues. The term “dignity” can take various meanings. For example, it can be used to denote the respect owed to an individual person, or to signify the intrinsic value of humankind as a whole. These two different understandings of dignity inevitably lead to different approaches to end-of-life decisionmaking. This article explores the meaning of the term “dignity” in two European countries, England and France. Our analysis compares public debates and legislation on end-of-life-related issues in these two countries. We argue that in England dignity is most commonly understood as respect for individual autonomy, whereas in France dignity usually signifies respect for humanity as a whole. We demonstrate that the difference in the conceptualization of the term leads to different ethical, and hence legal and practical, approaches to end-of-life issues and vulnerable patients. Our particular focus is on (1) withdrawing/withholding life-sustaining treatment, (2) respect for patient preferences, and (3) assistance in dying. Given the difference in the understanding of dignity, and the underlying philosophical approaches, it appears that there is still a long way to go before we can establish common guidelines on end-of-life decisions across Europe and beyond. However, clarifying the use of the term “dignity” in different discussions around Europe could hopefully facilitate this endeavor. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5355899 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Cambridge University Press |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-53558992017-03-27 The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France HORN, RUTH KERASIDOU, ANGELIKI Camb Q Healthc Ethics Special Section: Bioethics Beyond Borders Dignity is one of the most controversial and yet commonly used terms in debates regarding end-of-life issues. The term “dignity” can take various meanings. For example, it can be used to denote the respect owed to an individual person, or to signify the intrinsic value of humankind as a whole. These two different understandings of dignity inevitably lead to different approaches to end-of-life decisionmaking. This article explores the meaning of the term “dignity” in two European countries, England and France. Our analysis compares public debates and legislation on end-of-life-related issues in these two countries. We argue that in England dignity is most commonly understood as respect for individual autonomy, whereas in France dignity usually signifies respect for humanity as a whole. We demonstrate that the difference in the conceptualization of the term leads to different ethical, and hence legal and practical, approaches to end-of-life issues and vulnerable patients. Our particular focus is on (1) withdrawing/withholding life-sustaining treatment, (2) respect for patient preferences, and (3) assistance in dying. Given the difference in the understanding of dignity, and the underlying philosophical approaches, it appears that there is still a long way to go before we can establish common guidelines on end-of-life decisions across Europe and beyond. However, clarifying the use of the term “dignity” in different discussions around Europe could hopefully facilitate this endeavor. Cambridge University Press 2016-07 /pmc/articles/PMC5355899/ /pubmed/27348825 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0963180116000050 Text en © Cambridge University Press 2016 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
spellingShingle | Special Section: Bioethics Beyond Borders HORN, RUTH KERASIDOU, ANGELIKI The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title | The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title_full | The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title_fullStr | The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title_full_unstemmed | The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title_short | The Concept of Dignity and Its Use in End-of-Life Debates in England and France |
title_sort | concept of dignity and its use in end-of-life debates in england and france |
topic | Special Section: Bioethics Beyond Borders |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5355899/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27348825 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0963180116000050 |
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