Photo: iStockAlmost a year ago, I wrote an article about the moral challenges with extending the life of terminally ill patients beyond the natural length dictated by the illness. There is little argument that involuntary euthanasia—where the patient’s life is terminated without consent—is illegal. It provides no exception for situations where terminally ill patients have consented to this course of action. Accordingly, doctors who abide by the wishes of terminally ill patients expressed through advance directives are not guilty of having committed a crime or operating in violation of their ethical obligations as medical practitioners. That said, the court could not resist the need to stipulate safeguards to ensure that advance directives are not misused.

Source: Mint March 13, 2018 18:11 UTC