title: [Euthanasia].
abstract: Clinical practice may pose an ethical dilemma: is it better to actively kill a patient or let her/him die naturally and more slowly? The former may be considered to involve less suffering than a slow death possibly full of suffering. The central problem in respect of euthanasia is how to define, which level of suffering is intolerable. In practice, persons suffering particularly from degenerative and chronic neurological diseases experience helplessness and powerlessness as a burden. The scope of suffering is changing over time, whereby the establishment of permanent guidelines for euthanasia is difficult.
authors.affiliation: Terhokoti, Helsinki.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hänninen
mesh_terms: D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological