Active voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide?
OBJECTIVE
To find out why Dutch general practitioners (GPs) and nursing home physicians (NHPs), and patients (according to their physician) opt for active voluntary euthanasia rather than for physician-assisted suicide, or vice-versa.


BACKGROUND
The following definitions were used in the study: Euthanasia is the intentional termination of life, by someone other than the patient, at the patient's request; physician-assisted suicide is intentionally helping a patient to terminate his or her life at his or her request.


METHODS
Two descriptive, retrospective studies.


METHODS
The Netherlands.


METHODS
Data were collected by means of anonymous questionnaires sent to a random sample of 521 GPs from the province of North Holland, 521 GPs from the rest of the Netherlands, and all 713 NHPs who were members of the Dutch Association of Nursing Home Physicians. Data were collected over the period 1986-1989 (inclusive) for GPs and the period 1986-June 1990 (inclusive) for NHPs.


RESULTS
Forty-eight percent of the Gps, 78% of the NHPs, and about half of the patients who opted for euthanasia did so because of the physical condition of the patient. The reason GPs, NHPs, and patients gave most often for opting for physician-assisted suicide was that they wanted 'as far as possible to let the patient bear the responsibility.'


CONCLUSIONS
In 38% of all cases for GPs and 57% of all cases for NHPs, only active voluntary euthanasia could be performed because of the patient's condition. In the other cases, where there was a choice, most GPs performed euthanasia, while most NHPs assisted in suicide. Active voluntary euthanasia was chosen primarily for medico-technical reasons, whereas physician-assisted suicide was selected primarily for moral reasons.
Onwuteaka-Philipsen
B D
BD
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, The Netherlands.
Muller
M T
MT
van der Wal
G
G
van Eijk
J T
JT
Ribbe
M W
MW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005065:Euthanasia; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018447:Medical Futility; D008503:Medical Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010358:Patient Participation; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017236:Suicide, Assisted; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires