Hospice care as an alternative to euthanasia.

Abstract

The same concerns that have led society to consider euthanasia as an option for relieving the suffering of the dying led to the development of the hospice movement. How effectively has hospice care met these needs, and is there still a need for euthanasia? Is the hospice approach to death an alternative to euthanasia, compatible with euthanasia, or euthanasia in another form? Do those health care workers who are drawn to providing hospice care favor or oppose euthanasia?Hospice care developed out of a sense of frustration with the treatment of the dying, and as a reaction against the abuses of an impersonal high-technology approach to patients. There was institutional denial of death which made it impossible to integrate death into the lives of people. Due to neglect, many patients were under-treated with little attention paid to relieving pain or dealing with their or their families’ psychosocial needs.