scholarly journals “If Only I Could Start All over…” A Case Study of Spiritual Care Provision to a Patient with a Psychiatric Disorder Requesting Physician-Assisted Dying in The Netherlands

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 672
Author(s):  
Carmen Schuhmann ◽  
Marianne C. Snijdewind ◽  
Lisa van Duijvenbooden ◽  
Geert E. Smid
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Case Description ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying

In a growing number of countries, legislation permits physicians—under strict conditions—to grant a request for physician-assisted dying (PAD). Legally allowing for the possibility of granting such a request is in accordance with central humanistic values such as respect for autonomy and self-determination. The Netherlands is one of few countries where severe suffering from a psychiatric illness qualifies as a ground for a request for PAD. Central in this article is a case description of spiritual care provision in the Netherlands by a humanist healthcare chaplain to a patient requesting PAD because of psychiatric suffering. We discuss what we may learn from the case description about how spiritual caregivers may support patients who express a wish to die, and about their contribution to the care for patients with a psychiatric disorder who request PAD.

scholarly journals The social–political challenges behind the wish to die in older people who consider their lives to be completed and no longer worth living

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Els van Wijngaarden ◽  
Anne Goossensen ◽  
Carlo Leget
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Ethical Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wish To Die ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying ◽  
Inclusive Society

In the Netherlands, physician-assisted dying has been legalized since 2002. Currently, an increasing number of Dutch citizens are in favour of a more relaxed interpretation of the law. Based on an ethos of self-determination and autonomy, there is a strong political lobby for the legal right to assisted dying when life is considered to be completed and no longer worth living. Building on previous empirical research, this article provides a critical ethical reflection upon this social issue. In the first part, we discuss the following question: what is the lived experience of older people who consider their lives to be completed and no longer worth living? We describe the reported loss of a sense of autonomy, dignity and independence in the lives of these older people. In the second part, from an ethics of care stance, we analyse the emerging social and political challenges behind the wish to die. Empirically grounded, the authors argue that the debate on ‘completed life in old age’ should primarily focus not on the question of whether or not to legitimize a self-directed death but on how to build an inclusive society where people may feel less unneeded, useless and marginalized.

scholarly journals Legal physician-assisted dying in Oregon and the Netherlands: evidence concerning the impact on patients in "vulnerable" groups

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 591-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P Battin ◽  
A. van der Heide ◽  
L. Ganzini ◽  
G. van der Wal ◽  
B. D Onwuteaka-Philipsen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals A Study of the First Year of the End-of-Life Clinic for Physician-Assisted Dying in the Netherlands

2015 ◽  
Vol 175 (10) ◽  
pp. 1633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne C. Snijdewind ◽  
Dick L. Willems ◽  
Luc Deliens ◽  
Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen ◽  
Kenneth Chambaere
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
First Year ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying

Old problems in need of new (narrative) approaches? A young physician–bioethicist’s search for ethical guidance in the practice of physician-assisted dying in the Netherlands

2020 ◽  
pp. medethics-2019-106016
Author(s):  
Bernadette Roest
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Narrative Approaches ◽  
Ethical Guidance ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The One ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying ◽  
Challenging Question ◽  
Empirical Turn

The current empirical research and normative arguments on physician-assisted dying (PAD) in the Netherlands seem insufficient to provide ethical guidance to general practitioners in the practice of PAD, due to a gap between the evidence and arguments on the one hand and the uncertainties and complexities as found in everyday practice on the other. This paper addresses the problems of current ethical arguments and empirical research and how both seem to be profoundly influenced by the Dutch legislative framework on PAD and a certain view on ethics. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on how other approaches to empirical research in bioethics, such as found in the broad field of narrative research, could supplement the empirical and ethical evaluation of PAD in the Netherlands. This paper also addresses the challenging question of how empirical data—in this case narratives—relate to normativity. The paper is written in the form of a personal narrative of the author, a young Dutch general practitioner and researcher in bioethics. This style is intentionally chosen, to illustrate how work context and professional background influence the observations one makes and the questions one may ask about the topic of PAD. In addition, by using this style, this paper not only gives a different perspective on a much-contested bioethical issue, but also on the challenges faced when a physician–bioethicist has to navigate different disciplinary fields and (moral) epistemological paradigms, especially since the ‘empirical turn’ in bioethics.

scholarly journals Should euthanasia and assisted suicide be legal?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-75
Author(s):  
Hrvoje Vargić
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
The Right ◽  
Key Terms

The article examines whether countries should legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. Firstly, context of the debate is provided by defining the key terms and giving the overview of how the debate evolved throughout history. The arguments in favor of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide are addressed, namely the argument from autonomy and self–determination and the claim for the “right to die with dignity”. The consequences which were showed to occur in the countries which legalized euthanasia and/or assisted suicide are analyzed, and the case study on the Netherlands and Belgium is made. Finally, the model for the dignity–respecting health–care is proposed followed by the call for bigger accessibility and funding for palliative care.

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