title: Dementia and assisted suicide and euthanasia.
abstract: The number of dementia patients requesting euthanasia in the Netherlands has increased over the past five years. The issue is highly controversial. In this contribution we discuss some of the main arguments: the nature of suffering, the voluntariness of the request and the role of the physician. We argue that society has a duty to care for patients who suffer from dementia and to make their lives as good and comfortable as possible. We also argue that it can be morally acceptable for those who do not want to continue their life with dementia to choose to die. The choice can be based on good reasons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethics and Philosophy, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. i.debeaufort@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Inez D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: de Beaufort
authors.affiliation: Department of Ethics and Philosophy, Erasmus MC, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Ethics, AMC, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van de Vathorst
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Assisted suicide; Dementia; End of life; Ethics; Euthanasia