Current ethical dilemmas in clinical practice in Europe

The need for clinical ethics support is increasingly recognised by clinicians and health services across Europe, and many countries already have clinical ethics committees. The range of ethical issues for which clinicians may require support is likely to show some similarity across countries, but differences in the frequency and type of ethical issue will also be seen, related to cultural, economic, and systematic differences between countries. In this paper I consider some of the common ethical issues faced by clinicians, drawing on my knowledge and experience of the UK situation, and informed by discussions with other European colleagues. I consider some specific examples to illustrate general issues, and suggest some possible areas of difference that will be important in addressing clinical ethics support in a European wide context.