This paper articulates dignity as relational engagement in concrete care situations. Dignity is often understood as an abstract principle that represents inherent worth of all human beings. In actual care practices, this principle has to be substantiated in order to gain meaning and inform care activities. We describe three exemplary substantiations of the principle of dignity in care: as a sta...

The words in the title were used by an elderly medical widow whose circumstances changed suddenly and she did not know where to turn to or how she was going to manage. The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund was contacted and as a result of her application and the back up report of the Area Visitor, this lady has been helped and her worries have been lifted from her shoulders. These words of thanks s...

Almost all living things act to free themselves from harmful contacts. A kind of freedom is achieved by the relatively simple forms of behavior called reflexes. A person sneezes and frees his respiratory passages from irritating substances. He vomits and frees his stomach from indigestible or poisonous food. He pulls back his hand and frees it from a sharp or hot object. More elaborate forms of...

Human rights, including the right to health, are grounded in protecting and promoting human dignity. Although commitment to human dignity is a widely shared value, the precise meaning and requirements behind the term are elusive. It is also unclear as to how a commitment to human dignity translates into specific human rights, such as the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and d...

BACKGROUND The regulation of human cloning continues to be a significant national and international policy issue. Despite years of intense academic and public debate, there is little clarity as to the philosophical foundations for many of the emerging policy choices. The notion of "human dignity" is commonly used to justify cloning laws. The basis for this justification is that reproductive hum...

The concept articulated in the title of this conference, ‘death with dignity’ can have many interpretations, which is of course why there is so much debate on a subject that at first sight would appear to be uncontroversial. All participants in the debate will agree that death with dignity is a good to be aspired to for everyone but what is not universally agreed is how death with dignity can b...

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