Palliative Sedation in End-of-Life Care
Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. 2006;8(6):320-327.
Excerpt:
In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled against physician-assisted suicide but maintained support for aggressive palliative care. The Supreme Court rulings Vacco v Quill 521 US 793 (1997) and Washington v Glucksberg 521 US 702 (1997) supported the concept of sedation when used to relieve intractable suffering. These decisions sanctioned the use of sedation, even to the point of rendering a patient unconscious or hastening death. It is felt that in palliative sedation, unconsciousness relieves suffering.[17] Palliative sedation is the use of carefully titrated medications and is distinct from assisted suicide. In Supreme Court briefs opposing physician-assisted suicide, proponents for hospice and palliative care found palliative sedation to be a morally and clinically preferable last resort alternative to the relief of intractable symptoms...