Death by request in The Netherlands: facts, the legal context and effects on physicians, patients and families.
In this article I intend to describe an issue of the Dutch euthanasia practice that is not common knowledge. After some general introductory descriptions, by way of formulating a frame of reference, I shall describe the effects of this practice on patients, physicians and families, followed by a more philosophical reflection on the significance of these effects for the assessment of the authenticity of a request and the nature of unbearable suffering, two key concepts in the procedure towards euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. This article does not focus on the arguments for or against euthanasia and the ethical justification of physician-assisted dying. These arguments have been described extensively in Kimsma and Van Leeuwen (Asking to die. Inside the Dutch debate about euthanasia, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1998).
Kimsma
G K
GK
Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. gk.kimsma@vumc.nl
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D026724:Ethical Review / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology