• To enhance your understanding of the concept of a ‘good death’
• To familiarise yourself with the nurse’s role in caring for patients requesting assisted dying
• To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)
• To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)
The assisted dying debate is complex, with confusion over definitions and the stance taken by professional bodies. It can also be challenging to make sense of the claims made by those who support changes in the law regarding assisted dying. End of life care is an important aspect of a nurse’s role and therefore understanding the ethical issues arising from the debate is useful for nurses in clinical practice. This article outlines the legal position in the UK and the bills currently before the Westminster and Scottish parliaments proposing changes in the law. It also considers major ethical issues arising from the debate, along with the nurse’s role in caring for patients requesting assisted dying.
Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11879
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Holt J (2022) Ethical issues arising from the assisted dying debate. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11879
Published online: 13 June 2022
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