A Dutch oncologist was describing to an audience of Americanphysicians in Amsterdam the circumstances under which euthanasiawas performed in the Netherlands at a time when the practicewas illegal yet widely used. Each act of euthanasia was reported,after the fact, to the local prosecutor, who investigated thecase and routinely declined to prosecute any treating physicianwho had acted transparently and in the best interest of theterminally ill patient. The American physicians were incredulousthat their Dutch colleagues were willing to place themselvesat risk for criminal prosecution by providing care that might,on later review, . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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Dr. Greene, an associate editor of the Journal, is a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and director of obstetrics at Massachusetts General Hospital — both in Boston.
This article (10.1056/NEJMp078084) was published at www.nejm.org on April 23, 2007.
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