安乐死的含义解析及立法司法发展历史

当前,安乐死成为社会舆论关注的焦点问题之一。对于安乐死的含义,不同的社会主体,曾对安乐死的含义作出过截然不同的解释。因为对于安乐死的含义理解不同,在人类历史上,不同国家和地区有关安乐死的立法和司法实践均有较大差异。就总体趋势而言,人类社会渐趋对安乐死持宽容态度,尤其二战以后更是如此。     

“安乐死”渐欲迷人眼

源于希腊文的“安乐死”，意思是“幸福的死亡”，也就是指对身患绝症、临近死亡且处于极度痛苦之中而无法救治的病人采取停止治疗或使用相关药物等方式，使之有尊严、无痛苦地迅速死去。目前在国际上对安乐死持肯定态度的学者认为，安乐死必须符合多个条件，除病人患不治之症并已临近死期、极端痛苦而不堪忍受外，     

浅析德国推定承诺与消极安乐死的司法实践

正近些年,安乐死问题一直是法学界、医学界、伦理学界共同关注的焦点问题。出于对人类生命权的尊重,尽管有部分国家认可安乐死的合法化,但总体而言,多数国家对安乐死,特别是积极安乐死持审慎态度。对于消极安乐死,是否可以依据推定而非明示的承诺,认定安乐死的合法效力,则存在探讨的空间。本文结合德国联邦最高法院1994年审理的一桩安乐死案件(刑一庭1994年第357号)来探讨推定承诺与消极安乐死的相关问题。一、基本案情[1]70岁的伊斯由于心脏停搏不可逆地严重伤及了     

中立帮助行为探微

中立的帮助行为虽为日常生活或者业务行为中的惯常现象,但也可能对正犯的实行行为起到促进效果。绝大多数的中立帮助行为因不能使法益的侵害实质地危险化,且均符合社会共同体生活的目的,不构成犯罪。部分中立帮助行为因其客观上助益于正犯行为的实施甚或使法益侵害加剧,而帮助行为的实施者主观上也明确认识到正犯的存在,并对其帮助行为促进正犯实施持积极的追求或容忍态度,符合帮助犯的构成要件。     

情理与法的大决斗——介绍国外有关“安乐死”的争论

情理与法的大决斗——介绍国外有关“安乐死”的争论金子桐所谓“安乐死”，是指身患绝症，生存无望，在濒临死亡之前，为解脱难以忍受之病痛而萌自杀之决意，而又缺自杀之能力或勇气，乃嘱托他人帮助杀害自己，以达其自杀之目的的行为。就其获得的他人帮助自杀之行为而言...     

我国首例“安乐死”案庭审纪实

所谓“安乐死”,其原意是指无痛苦地、仁慈地死亡。“安乐死”是否构成犯罪,是世界众多法学家、社会学家、医学家乃至哲学家等长期争论的课题之一。对此,过去我国基本持否定态度,但近年来也出现了肯定的观点。自1986年6月在陕西汉市中发生了全国首例“安乐死”案件后,更吸引了国内有关专家、学者的热情关注。下文是本院电教中心赴汉中参加该案旁听、录象和采访的简要报道。供广大读者在深入研究“安乐死”问题时参考。     

浅析安乐死——以浙江地区730例调查为基础

危重病人家属的安乐死观念和态度将对病人能否予以实施安乐死起着至关重要的作用。通过对浙江地区危重病人家属进行问卷调查,了解他们对安乐死的认同态度,也将为国家的安乐死立法提供民意支撑。在此基础上进一步分析论证,有利于推动我国安乐死的立法进程。     

安乐死合理性初探

所谓“安乐死”,是指对于身患绝症、治愈无望,处于难以忍受的极度痛苦之中濒临死亡的病人,应其本人要求,所采取的使其死亡或加速死亡发生的措施。由于安乐死是一个极为复杂的问题,牵涉医学、社会学、伦理学、心理学等诸多学科,所以国内外争论几十年,对于安乐死是否合理这一问题仍未有定论。尽管大多数人对安乐死表示了赞同的态度,实践中大多数国家对安乐死案件的处理并没有完全以杀人罪论处,但是目前在学术界否定说仍为各界学者之通说,大多数国家在立法上都不承认安乐死合法。本文试图采取利益分析的方法,对安乐死的合理性谈一点…     

人格主义法益观视角下自杀关联行为的评价

在适用《刑法》第232条故意杀人罪之规定时,传统观点一直坚持两项原则:一是故意杀人行为仅限于正犯行为;二是故意杀人的行为对象是他人的生命。在涉及对自杀参与行为的评价时,这两项原则已被放弃。然而,放弃第一项原则,会导致刑法规范体系的矛盾和评价冲突;放弃第二项原则,同样会导致评价冲突。因此,在评价自杀参与行为性质时,传统的两项原则仍应被坚持。从人格主义法益观的视角看,自杀剥夺了继续形成中的人格的生命,故而属于剥夺"他人"生命的行为;基于共犯从属性原则,自杀参与行为也构成故意杀人罪;参与他人自杀的行为的不法较轻和存在共犯量刑的特殊规定,是自杀参与行为得以减免处罚的根据;安乐死和尊严死存在被正当化的余地;阻止他人自杀的行为不是正当防卫而应是紧急避险。     

安乐死在英国的法律焦点

各国在法律和政策上对安乐死问题始终十分谨慎。因为它涉及人类拥有的最基本的两种权利,即生存权和对自己身体的处置权之间的矛盾和冲突。如果患者对生死问题有自治的权利,那势必会扩展到残疾人自杀性的自愿安乐死。如果我们在道德上允许安乐死合法化,在事实上会导致道德上不允许的安乐死实施。因此从道德而言,我们不应使安乐死合法化。     

Attitudes toward police response to domestic violence: a comparison of Chinese and American college students

Domestic violence has emerged as a worldwide concern since the 1970s. Although a substantial amount of efforts have been devoted to assessing various aspects of domestic violence, a relatively small number of studies have empirically examined factors that shape public attitudes toward police response to such incidents. Even rarer is investigating the topic from an international, comparative perspective. Based on survey data gathered from approximately 550 college students in China and the United States, this study analyzes the effects of background characteristics, personal and vicarious experiences of crime, and perceptions of gender roles and violence on attitudes toward proactive and traditional police response to domestic violence. Compared to their American counterparts, Chinese students were less likely to favor proactive response and more likely to support traditional response. Chinese and American students' attitudes toward police response to domestic violence were shaped by some different and common factors. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate students of social work

The article focuses on definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate social work students in Israel. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. The vast majority of students in Study 1 acknowledged acts thought to constitute wife assault and disapproved of a husband's use of force against his wife. The majority of students in Study 2 did not justify wife abuse nor tend to believe that battered women benefit from beating, although they tended to blame the violent husband for his behavior. Significant amounts of the variance in dependent variables were explained by the students' marital role expectations (Study 1) and their attitudes toward women and sex role stereotypes (Study 2). The students' year of study and participation in family violence or wife abuse courses did not contribute toward explaining the variance in their beliefs. Results are discussed in light of the students' patriarchal ideology, and implications for future research are presented.     

Attitudes,anger, and nullification instructions influence jurors’ verdicts in euthanasia cases

Courts have historically avoided informing jurors about their nullification power (i.e. the power to return a not-guilty verdict when their conscience demands it but the law directs otherwise), fearing that such knowledge would prompt disregard for the law and reliance on attitudes and emotions rather than evidence. We investigated jurors’ inclination to nullify the law in a morally ambiguous case of physician-assisted suicide, testing the impact of euthanasia attitudes on case judgments as well as moderators and mediators of that effect. Mock jurors with pro-euthanasia attitudes were overall less likely to vote guilty than anti-euthanasia jurors, especially when they were given jury instructions informing them of jurors’ power to nullify. Nullification instructions also exacerbated the effect of jurors’ attitudes on anger, disgust, and moral outrage toward the defendant – emotions that mediated the effect of attitudes on verdicts. We also tested the impact of incidentally induced anger on jurors’ reliance on their attitudes rather than the law, given anger’s propensity to increase certainty and heuristic processing. Anger enhanced mock jurors’ reliance on their attitudes under certain conditions. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding juror decision-making are discussed.     

Euthanasia as a Serious Homicide: An Empirical Study of (Normative) Consensus in Israel

The present study tests the applicability of the consensus versus the conflict model of criminal law in the case of homicide, and euthanasia, in particular. Although most criminal statutes consider euthanasia to be a serious homicide, many studies have revealed increasing public support for it. A survey of a national sample of Israeli respondents, based on a factorial design methodology, was conducted to determine the extent to which the criminal law reflects general or particular public attitudes toward euthanasia. The findings revealed that although social groups varied in their views on the seriousness of euthanasia, the public at large perceived it as significantly less serious than any other type of homicide. These findings are compatible with calls for reassessment of the criminal law with regard to euthanasia.     

Capital punishment views in China and the United States: a preliminary study among college students

There is a lack of research on attitudes toward capital punishment in China, and there is even less research on cross-national comparisons of capital punishment views. Using data recently collected from college students in the United States and China, this study finds that U.S. and Chinese students have differences in their views on the death penalty and its functions of deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. This study also reveals that the respondents' perspectives of deterrence, rehabilitation, retribution, and incapacitation all affect their attitudes toward the death penalty in the United States, whereas only the first three views affect attitudes toward capital punishment in China. Furthermore, retribution is the strongest predictor in the United States, whereas deterrence is the strongest predictor in China.     

从义务主体到权利主体——当代大学生权利意识变化的法学审视

法制观念和维权意识的不断增强,是近年来当代大学生呈现出的一个显著特征,这一特征的凸现,使大学生在高校中的法律地位由过去的义务主体转向权利主体,致使高校的管理尤其是学生管理面临着新的挑战,应对挑战,改进管理,成为高校“依法办学,依法治校”的热门话题,本文运用法学原理,结合工作实际,对当代大学生权力意识的变化进行法学浅析,进而提出改进高校学生管理、加强高校法制化进程的几点建议。     

College Students’ Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence: a Comparative Study of China and the U.S.

Although attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) have been the subject of many studies, little research has been conducted to comparatively assess public definitions of IPV in Western and non-Western countries. Drawing upon survey data collected from approximately 500 Chinese and American college students, this study compared and contrasted Chinese and American college students in their beliefs about what constitute IPV. Chinese students were found to be less likely to define abusive acts as IPV than their U.S. counterparts. Gender-role attitudes, such as beliefs of male dominance and IPV as crime, were among the most prominent predictors of students’ definitions of IPV. Chinese and American college students’ attitudes differed not only in what was defined as IPV, but also in what were the factors that shaped such attitudes. Directions for future research and policy were discussed.     

Not enough help for themselves--the risk of physicians to commit suicide

Physicians seem unwilling to deal with their own suicidal problems professionally. Suicide is a repressed topic. According to international studies, medical students and physicians are clearly over-represented among suicide victims. Committing suicide stands in sharp contrast to the positive image physicians enjoy as competent, strong helpers transmitting positive energy. Various studies and meta-analyses show that physicians use knowledge specific to their profession and are therefore "more successful" than the general population in committing suicide. Moreover, the data reveal a number of risk factors specifically correlating with medical practice. This is confirmed by an increased number of suicides during medical training and professional life in comparison with the general population. Gender-specific analyses show an even higher suicide risk for female physicians. In this context it cannot be excluded that out of "professional respect" cardiovascular causes of death are sometimes falsely documented in death certificates instead of suicide. Despite their special education, physicians are not very good at diagnosing their own emotional disorders and asking colleagues for adequate professional help. They rather tend to camouflage their own psychological problems also because they are afraid of occupational and personal discrimination.     

Is knowledge power? The effects of a victimology course on victim blaming

The current study examines the impact of a victimology course on students' perceptions of the blameworthiness of crime victims and knowledge of victimization issues. Victim-blaming attitudes among college students enrolled in a victimology course were compared with students enrolled in other courses. Results from a pretest and posttest suggest that the victimology students were significantly less likely to blame victims and these students also gained significantly more knowledge over time compared with the students who did not enroll in the course. Results from the multivariate analysis indicate that less knowledge over time and a higher propensity to blame victims at the beginning of the semester predicted more victim-blaming attitudes on the posttest. Overall, the findings suggest that knowledge of victimology significantly affects students' propensity to blame victims of crime.     

Regional differences in spanking experiences and attitudes: A comparison of Northeastern and Southern college students

This study examined regional differences in college students experiences with corporal punishment. Students from two universities, one in the Northeast and one in the South, were surveyed about three aspects of spanking: their experiences receiving physical punishment, their assessments of their punishments, and their attitudes toward spanking. In general, Northeastern students were less likely than Southern students to have been hit and were hit less frequently. Further, Northeastern students were less likely than Southern students to feel that their spankings were justified, and less likely to favor spanking. Analyses of covariance for selected dependent variables controlling for religion, parents' education, and gender revealed that the effect of region was more important for attitudes than for behaviors. Implications of the findings for parents, children, and family professionals are discussed.