ivery of care. Abortion, do not resuscitate orders, and a patient's right to die are three such issues confronting nurses in the contemporary period. The professional nurse in the 1990s must confront the issues of a patient's right to die and assisted suicide. While the professional nurse is dealing with these provocative issues, he or she must sweep away the confusion purposefully introduced into the public discussion of the concepts, while simultaneously dealing with her or his own personal value system that may cause her or him to abhor the act, and attempting to balance the responsibilities of a nurse to assist a patient regardless of personal philosophical predilections.
Caring is central to the practice of nursing (Benner & Wrubel, 1989, p. 3). Caring is embedded in the personal and cultural meanings and commitments of the nurse. Leininger (1988, p. 24) maintained that caring is the essence of humanity, that care is essential for human growth and survival, and that care must be the central focus of nursing and
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