A hospice nurse has been working closely with a client who, on several occasions, has asked about ...

2. Legal issues are not the same as moral or ethical ones.

Rationale:
Determining whether an action is legal is only one aspect of deciding whether it is ethical. Legality and morality are not one and the same. The nurse must know and follow the legal statutes of the profession and boundaries within the state before making any decision. Passive euthanasia involves the withdrawal of extraordinary means of life support and is never an easy decision. Active euthanasia and assisted suicide are in violation of the Code for Nurses, according to the position statement by the ANA (1995). Some states and countries have laws permitting assisted suicide for clients who are severely ill, are near death, and wish to commit suicide.