Sedation at the End-of-life: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Philosophy and Medicine Book 116)

The bookℓ́ℓs main contribution is its interdisciplinary approach to the issue of sedation at the end-of-life. Because it occurs at the end of life, palliative sedation raises a number of important ethical and legal questions, including whether it is a covert form of euthanasia and for what purposes it may legally be used. Many of the book chapters address the first question and almost all deal with a specific form of the second: whether palliative sedation should be used for those experiencing ℓ́ℓexistential sufferingℓ́ℓ? This raises the question of what existential suffering is, a topic that is also discussed in the book. The different chapters address these issues from the perspectives of the relevant disciplines: Palliative Medicine, Bioethics, Law and Theology. Hence, helpful accounts of the clinical and historical background for this issue are provided and the importance of drawing accurate ethical and legal distinctions is stressed throughout the whole book. So the volume represents a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on this topic and should be helpful across a broad spectrum of readers: philosophers, theologians and physicians The bookĺls main contribution is its interdisciplinary approach to the issue of sedation at the end-of-life. Because it occurs at the end of life, palliative sedation raises a number of important ethical and legal questions, including whether it is a covert form of euthanasia and for what purposes it may legally be used. Many of the book chapters address the first question and almost all deal with a specific form of the second: whether palliative sedation should be used for those experiencing ĺlexistential sufferingĺl? This raises the question of what existential suffering is, a topic that is also discussed in the book. The different chapters address these issues from the perspectives of the relevant disciplines: Palliative Medicine, Bioethics, Law and Theology. Hence, helpful accounts of the clinical and historical background for this issue are provided and the importance of drawing accurate ethical and legal distinctions is stressed throughout the whole book. So the volume represents a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on this topic and should be helpful across a broad spectrum of readers: philosophers, theologians and physicians Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Sedation at the End of Life. Clinical Realities, Trends and Current Debate....Pages 1-14 Palliative Sedation and the Goals of Care at the End of Life....Pages 15-26 Clinical Aspects of Palliative Sedation for Refractory Symptoms....Pages 27-40 The Use of Palliative Sedation to Treat Existential Suffering: A Reconsideration....Pages 41-54 The Relevance of Double Effect to Decisions About Sedation at the End of Life....Pages 55-71 The Field of Application of the Principle of the Double Effect and the Problem of Palliative Sedation....Pages 73-90 ‘Palliative Sedation’, Ethics and the Law: An Overview of the ‘Sanctity of Life’, ‘Best Interests’ and ‘Autonomy’....Pages 91-109 Palliative Sedation: Some Legal Precautions in the Case of Chile....Pages 111-120 Clinical Guidelines for the Use of Palliative Sedation: Moving from Contention to Consensus....Pages 121-141 The Case Against Clinical Guidelines for Palliative Sedation....Pages 143-159 Back Matter....Pages 161-175