Dax Cowart
Ethics CPD Article 5: Assistance in dying: Dax’s Case and other reflections on the issue
Assistance in dying:
Dax’s Case and other reflections on the issue a Knapp van Bogaert D, PhD, D Phil
Ogunbanjo GA, MBBS, FCFP(SA), M Fam Med, FACRRM, FACTM, FAFP(SA), FWACP (Fam Med) a Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg b Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), Pretoria
Correspondence: Prof D Knapp van Bogaert, e-mail: Donna.VanBogaert@wits.ac.za
Keywords: dying, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, good death, assistance in dying b Abstract
Euthanasia is a Greek word which means a “good death”. In this article, the authors discuss various concepts, such as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, mercy killing, and assistance in dying. They argue that involuntary euthanasia is an act of murder, and that to die is to go through the process of dying. The article explains the difference between physicianassisted dying and assistance in dying. The former may flow from the latter, which represents a request for help to die from a particular group of health care professionals. From an ethical point of view, it may appear a matter of semantics, but
“assistance in dying” is preferred as a term because it does not carry the same weight concerning judgemental connotations as do the terms “suicide” and “murder”.
SA Fam Pract 2010;52(6)(Supplement 1):S19-S23
Introduction
vehicle. They were unable to get their vehicle started so they started working on its spark plugs. As chance would have it, under the creek bed was a faulty gas line. A spark from the accelerator resulted in an explosion that left Dax
Cowart’s father dead. Sixty-seven per cent of Dax’s body sustained second- and third-degree burns. Prior to this he was a healthy young jet pilot and amateur rodeo performer.
Crawling from the scene of
Assistance in dying:
Dax’s Case and other reflections on the issue a Knapp van Bogaert D, PhD, D Phil
Ogunbanjo GA, MBBS, FCFP(SA), M Fam Med, FACRRM, FACTM, FAFP(SA), FWACP (Fam Med) a Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg b Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), Pretoria
Correspondence: Prof D Knapp van Bogaert, e-mail: Donna.VanBogaert@wits.ac.za
Keywords: dying, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, good death, assistance in dying b Abstract
Euthanasia is a Greek word which means a “good death”. In this article, the authors discuss various concepts, such as euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, mercy killing, and assistance in dying. They argue that involuntary euthanasia is an act of murder, and that to die is to go through the process of dying. The article explains the difference between physicianassisted dying and assistance in dying. The former may flow from the latter, which represents a request for help to die from a particular group of health care professionals. From an ethical point of view, it may appear a matter of semantics, but
“assistance in dying” is preferred as a term because it does not carry the same weight concerning judgemental connotations as do the terms “suicide” and “murder”.
SA Fam Pract 2010;52(6)(Supplement 1):S19-S23
Introduction
vehicle. They were unable to get their vehicle started so they started working on its spark plugs. As chance would have it, under the creek bed was a faulty gas line. A spark from the accelerator resulted in an explosion that left Dax
Cowart’s father dead. Sixty-seven per cent of Dax’s body sustained second- and third-degree burns. Prior to this he was a healthy young jet pilot and amateur rodeo performer.
Crawling from the scene of
References: 3. University of Virginia. Dax’s Treatment. 1997. Available from: http:// www.virginia.edu/uvanewsmakers/newsmakers/cowart.html