THE RIGHTS TO PALLIATIVE CARE IN SUBSTANTIVE LEGAL CONTEXTS IN THE US AND UK
Keywords:
Patient Autonomy, Palliative Care, Living Will, United States, United KingdomAbstract
A palliative care works best when it is clear, simple to define and trust – both by the medical practitioners who rely on it when the improvement or maintenance of health in the last stages is necessary, and by the health care bodies that expect to put things right. While palliative and end of life care policy and guidance aim to ensure the palliative services and quality in enhancing the quality of life for life-limiting patients with serious illnesses, critical debates involving long-standing disputes over key aspects of palliative care and curative treatments in last stages, perspectives of patients and families, and ethical application of palliative care, largely within the foundational aspects of patient autonomy and self-determination, aim at clarifying or defending faith of the quality of life of patients. This paper concentrates on protection of the rights to palliative care in national contexts under the U.S. and UK legal systems, areas that are increasingly vital in today's public health. It deals with the broad laws and policies behind U.S. and UK approaches and the promotion of the rights to palliative care in regional and national contexts. These scopes need to be evaluated in the light of appropriate provision of palliative care. The concept of palliative care has been questioned because of debates surrounding palliative care and curative treatments in the last stages of life. As a result, the dispute over the right to palliative care has raged for a long time, resulting in the U.S. and UK laws.
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