Rational suicide in the terminally ill
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Setup and Execution of the Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Death Notification Curriculum
Published on: August 5, 2020
1Nursing Resource Center, Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT, USA. Joycefontana@aol.com
Purpose:
To examine the current debate over the right to die specific to the rational suicide of terminally ill patients.
Methods:
Literature was reviewed for information concerning historical end-of-life practices and the past acceptance of suicide. Another review showed philosophical opinions and perspectives that spanned from ancient Greece and the Roman Empire to modern philosophical discourse. A case study of a terminally ill woman who chose suicide is presented to apply the history and philosophy to nursing care today.
Conclusions:
As more nursing care is delivered in patients' homes, nurses will face this situation with increasing frequency. A call is made for organizations to provide guidelines for nursing practice.
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas II
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from emotional distress. Anger...
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Reason and Intuition