The Nurse’s Role when a Patient Requests Aid in Dying
NACN-USA Provides Comments on the American Nurses Association Proposed Position Statement: “The Nurse’s Role when a Patient Requests Aid in Dying”
- Read The ANA Proposed Position Statement »
- Read The NACN-USA Comments to the Statement »
- Listen To The Colleen Kelly Mast’s Radio Program Discussing The Topic from March 30, 2019 »
Update
On June 22, 2019, the American Nurses Association (ANA) issued a new position statement, “The Nurse’s Role When a Patient Requests Medical Aid in Dying,” which supersedes all their previous statements on this topic in which they have been staunchly opposed to assisted suicide.
In this new statement, their stated goal is, “not to frame a stance for or against medical aid in dying but rather to frame the nurse’s compassionate response within the scope of practice, based on the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements.” However, to change from opposition to “no stance” one must now be open to what previously was unacceptable. And so they are.
