Physician-assisted death in psychiatric practice in the Netherlands

The New England Journal of Medicine
Johanna H GroenewoudA van der Heide

Abstract

In 1994 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that in exceptional instances, physician-assisted suicide might be justifiable for patients with unbearable mental suffering but no physical illness. We studied physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in psychiatric practice in the Netherlands. In 1996, we sent questionnaires to 673 Dutch psychiatrists - about half of all such specialists in the country - and received 552 responses from the 667 who met the study criteria (response rate, 83 percent). We estimated the annual frequencies of requests for physician-assisted suicide by psychiatrists and actual instances of assistance. Of the respondents, 205 (37 percent) had at least once received an explicit, persistent request for physician-assisted suicide and 12 had complied. We estimate there are 320 requests a year in psychiatric practice and 2 to 5 assisted suicides. Excluding those who had ever assisted, 345 of the respondents (64 percent) thought physician-assisted suicide because of a mental disorder could be acceptable, including 241 who said they could conceive of instances in which they themselves would be willing to assist. The most frequent reasons for refusing were the belief that the patient had a treatable mental disorder, opp...Continue Reading

References

Aug 1, 1995·The American Journal of Psychiatry·H M ChochinovJ J Clinch
May 10, 1995·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·P J van der MaasJ J van Delden
Nov 28, 1996·The New England Journal of Medicine·G van der WalP J Kostense

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

May 21, 2005·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Sean O'MahonyRichard Payne
Jun 16, 2000·Social Science & Medicine·B D Onwuteaka-PhilipseP J van der Maas
Jun 6, 2000·The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery·D D Glower
Mar 31, 1999·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·L GrassiM Ercolani
Jan 21, 2000·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·J C Ahronheim, S B Davol
Oct 9, 1998·Epidemiologia e psichiatria sociale·F Starace
Dec 12, 2001·HIV Medicine·R AndraghettiM Borchert
Jun 19, 1997·The New England Journal of Medicine·L Ganzini, M A Lee
Sep 3, 2005·Death Studies·Dean BlevinsJames L Werth
Feb 23, 2013·The American Journal of Bioethics : AJOB·Samuel M BrownRobert Paine
Jul 13, 2013·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Malcolm Parker
Jul 16, 2013·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Michael J Cholbi
Jul 9, 2013·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Ron BerghmansIneke Widdershoven-Heerding
Jul 3, 2013·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Hans Pols, Stephanie Oak
Jun 15, 2014·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Marianne C SnijdewindDick L Willems
Jul 6, 2004·General Hospital Psychiatry·Johanna H GroenewoudGerrit Van Der Wal
Feb 20, 2015·Journal of Medical Ethics·Eva Elizabeth BoltBregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen
Sep 4, 2016·Psychosomatics·Samuel N DoernbergScott Y H Kim
May 2, 2000·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·D W Kissane, B J Kelly
May 27, 2017·Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie·Skye RousseauJitender Sareen
Jan 13, 1999·Crisis·M J KelleherE Williamson
Jan 11, 2019·Canadian Journal on Aging = La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement·Laura Brooks
May 2, 2006·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·Kris NaudtsCornelis van Heeringen
Oct 3, 2002·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·Brendan D Kelly, Declan M McLoughlin
Jul 31, 2020·International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice·Hans-Jürgen Möller
Jan 1, 2016·Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie·Olivia Anne Duffy
Apr 10, 1999·Hospital Medicine·I Finlay
May 31, 2012·Tijdschrift voor gerontologie en geriatrie·R T C M Koopmans, W J M Dekkers
Jan 25, 2021·Journal of Psychiatric Research·Raffaella CalatiPhilippe Courtet

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

HIV/AIDS-Related Malignancies

HIV/AIDS infection increases the risk of non-communicable diseases common in the aged including HIV/AIDS-related malignancies. Discover the latest research in HIV/AIDS-related malignancies.

AIDS Malignancies (ASM)

HIV infection increases the risk of non-communicable diseases common in the aged, including cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive decline, non-aids malignancies, osteoporosis, and frailty. Discover the latest research in AIDS malignancies.