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...

OBJECTIVE Contemporary ethical accounts of the patient-provider relationship emphasise respect for patient autonomy and shared decision making. We sought to examine the relative influence of involvement in decisions, confidence and trust in providers, and treatment with respect and dignity on patients' evaluations of their hospital care. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING Fifty one hosp...

Advocates of euthanasia say clear rules outlining procedures to follow when a terminally ill patient requests assisted suicide would help doctors provide better care without fear of legal or professional recrimination. The Canadian-born medical director of a US-based right-to die organization made the comments during the recent annual meeting of Dying With Dignity, a Canadian group.

Does the very idea of “human dignity” entail some moral disrespect for nonhuman animals? Put otherwise, does the notion of “human dignity” smack of speciesism (roughly, a view whereby nonhuman, sentient individuals are denied [adequate] moral standing on essentially arbitrary grounds)? Animal advocates, like James Rachels, often allege that there is a serious clash between the traditional view ...

CONTEXT The Oregon Death with Dignity Act, passed by ballot measure in 1994 and enacted in October 1997, legalized physician-assisted suicide for competent, terminally ill Oregonians, but little is known about the effects of the act on clinical practice or physician perspective. OBJECTIVE To examine Oregon physicians' attitudes toward and practices regarding care of dying patients since the p...

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...

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...

No other health‐care professional spends more time with patients at the end‐of‐life stage than the nurse, who is responsible for assessing and supporting patients’ physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Therefore, nurses are expected to provide quality palliative/end‐of‐life care that maintains the dignity and improves the quality of life (QOL) of patients who are entering the la...