This article clarify the results of the international study, carried out in seven countries. The purpose of the study was to clarify the ethical decision making of the nurses working with demented patients and with elderly cancer patients in terminal state, who refused to eat. In the structured interview a different kind of case study was presented to the nurses (N = 300) working with demented patients and to the nurses working with cancer patients. Nurses were asked to make a decision to feed or not to feed the patient. Justifications to the decision were also demanded. The subjects were also asked under what conditions they would change their decision. The most part of the nurses working with cancer patients made a decision not to feed the patient. Nurses from China and quite many from Israel chose however to feed the patient. The half of the nurses working with demented patients made a decision to feed the patient and an other half prefer not to feed the patient. Nurses from China, Israel, Finland and Kalifornia did prefer feeding and nurses from Australian, Sweden and Canada chose mostly not to feed the patient. The majority who chose not to feed the patient used the principle of autonomy as justification. Nurses who made a decision to feed the patient stressed mostly the principle of sanctity of life. Nurses changed their decision mostly when a doctor, nursing staff or patient's husband had different kind of opinion of the strategy to nurse the patient. Nurses from Sweden and China changed mostly their attitude because of the order of the doctor. The opinion of the staff was most important to australian nurses and the opinion of the husband had most influence to finnish nurses.