y in whether or not treatment continues. There may be problems associated with this however. In certain instances financial burdens placed on the family may determine the decisions that are made. On the other hand, the plight of some families to gain monetarily can have a large impact on what decisions are made toward the treatment of the victim. Issues such as these make it necessary for guidelines to determine the outcome of patients. Bastian 5 In certain areas of the world euthanasia has already been adopted. The Netherlands is one such place. Here they created guidelines which necessitate the four following before any actions are taken, they are: (1) patient competence, (2) consistent-voluntary requests, (3) intolerable physical suffering w/no recovery hope, (4) and physician performed. With legal guidelines society is not left with many questions or decisions. The patient is made responsible for his own well-being. Closer to home, California has been pushed to create proposed guidelines for euthanasia. These were pushed for by an organization called Americans Against Human Suffering, which is part of the Hemlock Society. The guidelines are identical to the Netherlands with two exceptions, these are: (1) the patient must be terminally ill and have less than 6 months to live, and (2) a person can request euthanasia seven years in advance, this is termed Advance Directive. Public opinion for euthanasia has always been mixed. But a recent poll, taken by the Gallup Organization in Canada during July 1995, reveals that people are starting to see advantages in euthanasia. The first question that was asked was: When a person has an incurable disease that is immediately life threatening and causes that person to experience great Bastian 6 suffering, do you, or do you not think that competent doctors should be allowed by law to end the patients life through mercy killing, if the patient has made a formal request in writing? The response was ...
