{"title":"[Consideration of patient autonomy at the end of life : End of life care between the protection of life and the right to self-determination].","authors":"Sandra Weeger-Elsner, Frank Elsner","doi":"10.1007/s00482-025-00894-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A person's rights to freedom and self-determination are a valuable asset. At the same time, the state has an obligation to protect life. Tension can arise between these equally important, immutable guarantees in Articles 1 and 2 of the German Basic Law if a person is suffering from severe pain due to an illness and there is no prospect of a cure. If a patient in this situation expresses the wish to die, this represents a major challenge for those providing treatment. Personal conflicts of conscience and uncertainty about the legal situation mean that the patient does not receive the treatment desired for the last phase of life. This article discusses the difficult topic of \"assisted dying\", primarily from a legal perspective. Which (medical) actions are punishable, which are not? What is the legislator doing to ensure legal certainty for everyone involved? How can patients make their own arrangements to ensure that their right to autonomy is respected at the end of life?</p>","PeriodicalId":21572,"journal":{"name":"Schmerz","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Schmerz","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00482-025-00894-6","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ANESTHESIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A person's rights to freedom and self-determination are a valuable asset. At the same time, the state has an obligation to protect life. Tension can arise between these equally important, immutable guarantees in Articles 1 and 2 of the German Basic Law if a person is suffering from severe pain due to an illness and there is no prospect of a cure. If a patient in this situation expresses the wish to die, this represents a major challenge for those providing treatment. Personal conflicts of conscience and uncertainty about the legal situation mean that the patient does not receive the treatment desired for the last phase of life. This article discusses the difficult topic of "assisted dying", primarily from a legal perspective. Which (medical) actions are punishable, which are not? What is the legislator doing to ensure legal certainty for everyone involved? How can patients make their own arrangements to ensure that their right to autonomy is respected at the end of life?
期刊介绍：
Der Schmerz is an internationally recognized journal and addresses all scientists, practitioners and psychologists, dealing with the treatment of pain patients or working in pain research. The aim of the journal is to enhance the treatment of pain patients in the long run.
Review articles provide an overview on selected topics and offer the reader a summary of current findings from all fields of pain research, pain management and pain symptom management.
Freely submitted original papers allow the presentation of important clinical studies and serve the scientific exchange.
Case reports feature interesting cases and aim at optimizing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Review articles under the rubric ''Continuing Medical Education'' present verified results of scientific research and their integration into daily practice.
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