Is promoting euthanasia or assisted suicide really a good idea?

No abstract available.

Tension between continuous and deep sedation and assistance in dying: a national survey of intensive care professionals' perceptions.

INTRODUCTION: The situation in France is unique, having a legal framework for continuous and deep sedation (CDS). However, its use in intensive care units (ICU), combined with the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies, still raises ethical issues, particularly its potential to hasten death. The legalization of assistance in dying, i.e., assisted suicide or euthanasia at the patient's request, is currently under discussion in France. The objectives of this national survey were first, to assess whether ICU professionals perceive CDS administered to ICU patients as a practice that hastens death, in addition to relieving unbearable suffering, and second, to assess ICU professionals' perceptions of assistance in dying. METHODS: A national survey with online questionnaires for ICU physicians and nursesaddressed through the French Society of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. RESULTS: A total of 956 ICU professionals responded to the survey (38% physicians and 62% nurses). Of these, 22% of physicians and 12% of nurses (p < 0.001) felt that the purpose of CDS was to hasten death. For 20% of physicians, CDS combined with terminal extubation was considered an assistance in dying. For 52% of ICU professionals, the current framework did not sufficiently cover the range of situations that occur in the ICU. A favorable opinion on the potential legalization of assistance in dying was observed in 83% of nurses and 71% of physicians (p < 0.001), with no preference between assisted suicide and euthanasia. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the tension between CDS and assisted suicide/euthanasia in the specific context of intensive care and suggest that ICU professionals would be supportive of a legislative evolution.

Attitude of undergraduate medical students towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: A cross-sectional study.

Euthanasia is categorically prohibited in Pakistan by Islamic law, but a clash of opinions among doctors and human rights advocates still prevails. As a result, medical students are becoming concerned about its practice and this problem needs to be addressed. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Faisalabad Medical University (FMU), Pakistan, from April 2023 to May 2023, using random sampling and statistical programme SPSS version 25, to assess the attitudes of medical students regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Despite the conditions and scenarios presented to the students, most of them expressed opposition to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide because of their religious beliefs and optimistic approach to life. Most of them favoured palliative care and passive euthanasia. Some students showed compliance with euthanasia even though it is equivalent to murder in Islam. Such contrasting results can baffle a physician to make wise decisions. Hence, it must be covered in medical curriculum in depth in order to help the future physicians clearly understand its practice under all circumstances.

Consensual end-of-life for depressed patients: a right or a danger?

Abstract: Recent events have brought the debate on end-of-life issues to the forefront, particularly regarding the principle of self-determination for depressed patients. Belgian legislation, in fact, allows for requesting euthanasia when patients, capable of expressing their own will consciously, suffer in an unbearable manner and find no meaning in continuing their existence, even in the absence of incurable and/or severely debilitating conditions. The state of the art is an increasing number of people who die from euthanasia. An open question is when a situation can be defined as unbearable. Moreover, does such an assessment necessarily lead to death, or are there other solutions? In our opinion, such a practice should be limited to prevent inappropriate applications that could lead to infringing depressed patients' rights.

[PAL-PRAT study: Healthcare workers' knowledge and perception of palliative practices in a Cancer Center]. / Quelle connaissance et quelle perception ont les professionnels de santé d'un Centre de lutte contre le cancer à propos des pratiques palliatives encadrées par la loi Claeys-Leonetti : étude PAL PRAT.

INTRODUCTION: The issue of end-of-life care is the subject of a sensitive debate in French society, particularly regarding the possibility for certain patients to have access to medical assistance in dying. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and opinion of healthcare providers on the care practices for patients at the end of life, as well as to highlight any specificities in their discourse. METHOD: A survey of healthcare providers' opinions, composed of closed and open questions, that were analyzed using a lexicometric approach, was distributed in a cancer center. RESULTS: The results of the study reveal a good knowledge of the different procedures. Professionals considered that advance directives should be systematically collected; a majority of them differentiated euthanasia from deep continuous sedation and perceived the latter as a means of relieving patients' suffering without inducing death. The different procedures related to the active assistance in dying were known by a majority of professionals and the survey did not identify a dominant trend concerning the will to practice euthanasia if the legal framework allowed it. Half of the participants considered their training insufficient, indicating the need to fill this gap. DISCUSSION: This survey underlines the importance of training and support for the professionals caring for patients in palliative situation and their relatives in France.

Organ donation after euthanasia starting with anesthesia at home is legal in The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Spain.

We would like to respond to the article "Organ donation after euthanasia starting at home in a patient with multiple system atrophy Tajaâte et al., [2021] 22:120" on organ donation after euthanasia from home [ODEH]. Although we welcome the performance of ODEH, we would like to make some critical comments regarding the article, both in relation to factual inaccuracies and in terms of the vision expressed on this subject. In this letter we stress the protection of autonomy of vulnerable euthanasia patients, we contradict the assumption of illegality, we question if the anesthesia method utilized is optimal and correct a mistake in regard to an article to which is referred of ourselves.

[Euthanasia in cases of advanced dementia remains a disquieting problem]. / Euthanasie bij gevorderde dementie: het ongemak blijft.

The practice of euthanasia in The Netherlands shows a gradual widening of patient categories who are considered to be eligible. The latest addition to this list consists of patients with dementia who are no longer mentally competent. They too may obtain euthanasia if they provided an Advance Euthanasia Directive stating their wish, at a time when they still were mentally competent. This possibility is explicitly mentioned in the law. A recent judgment by the Dutch Supreme Court upheld the action of a doctor who performed euthanasia under such circumstances. Dutch doctors tended to ignore this possibility, because it would lead to euthanasing persons who do not realize what is being done to them. The issue was explored in a survey amongst 422 Dutch GP's. A surprising 45,7% of doctors thinks it is acceptable if midazolam is administered in order to forego unworthy scenes at the time of the actual euthanasia. The author disapproves of these developments.

The End of Life Choice Act: a proposed implementation and research agenda.

AIM: This article outlines the End of Life Choice Act 2019. It highlights some of the key implementation issues to ensure the system operates safely and equitably after the Act comes into force. It also identifies priorities for research to ensure issues are detected and provision of assisted dying (AD) is monitored. METHOD: We reviewed the End of Life Choice Act, assisted dying implementation literature and governmental reports. RESULTS: Effective system implementation depends on infrastructure, oversight and funding. In terms of service provision, we make recommendations about training for all health practitioners and providing practitioners; the nuances of discussing the "wish to hasten death"; conscientious objection; cultural safety for Maori; and minimising the complexity of delivering assisted dying practice. Structured research is needed to understand how the assisted dying system is operating. CONCLUSION: This article contributes by identifying core issues for practitioners, patients and policymakers. Implementation is an ongoing process that continues after the Act starts. Data are required to know whether access is equitable, who is choosing to make use of the law, whether providers are well informed and whether the safeguards are working as intended. The implications of how the Act is implemented are significant for patients, whanau, health professionals and society.

The ongoing discussion on termination of life on request. A review from a German/European perspective.

BACKGROUND: Interest in the topic of termination of life has been growing for 2 decades. After legalisation of active euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) in the Netherlands in 2002, movements to implement similar laws started in other European countries. However, many people objected to legalisation on the basis of the experiences in the Netherlands and as a matter of principal. METHODS: This selected and focussed review presents the theoretical discussions about EAS and describes the respective parliamentary discussions in Germany and the data and experiences in the Netherlands. It also considers people with mental disorders in the context of termination-of-life services. RESULTS: So far, only a few European countries have introduced legislation on EAS. Legalisation of EAS in the Netherlands resulted in an unexpectedly large increase in cases. The number of people with mental disorders who terminate their lives on request remains low. CONCLUSIONS: Experience from the Netherlands shows that widening criteria for EAS has problematic consequences.KEY POINTSTermination of life on request, which a subgroup of people support, is a matter of ongoing debate.Because of several problematic aspects, including ethical considerations, only a few countries in the world allow active euthanasia or assisted suicide.Even if euthanasia is well regulated, legalising it can have problematic consequences that are difficult to control, such as an unwanted excessive increase in euthanasia cases.The well-documented experiences with the euthanasia law in the Netherlands serve as an example of what is to be expected when euthanasia is legalised.We need to pay close attention to the relationship between suicide and suicide prevention on the one hand and euthanasia acts and promotion of euthanasia on the other.Further ethical, psychological and legal research is needed. In particular, the role of palliative medicine in societies' approach to end-of-life care must be explored in much more detail.

Euthanasia: trends and opinions in Spain.

OBJECTIVE: Analyse the evolution of opinions about euthanasia by the general public and clinical physicians from 1995 to 2019 and their influence at the present time. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Bibliographical review based on relevance and quality of publications in open access and academic access platforms. Main surveys review of public and private institutions. Congress and Senate Official Journal Sessions. RESULTS: Recent surveys show that clinicians support the regulation of euthanasia. This position matches the general public's belief, which has grown steadily in recent decades. DISCUSSION: Social and clinical support for the regulation of euthanasia has been fundamental. In the last two decades political parties have changed their positions, thus creating a window of opportunity.

Agency, Autonomy and Euthanasia.

Agency is the human capacity to freely choose one's thoughts, motivations and actions without undue internal or external influences; it is distinguished from decisional capacity. Four well-known conditions that can deeply affect agency are depression, demoralization, existential distress, and family dysfunction. The study reviews how they may diminish agency in persons whose circumstances may lead them to consider or request euthanasia or assisted suicide. Since agency has been a relatively neglected dimension of autonomous choice at the end of life, it is argued that to respect the autonomy of individuals, it is essential to establish their agency.

New Zealand doctors and euthanasia-legal and practical considerations of the End of Life Choice Act.

AIM: To provide an overview of the New Zealand End of Life Choice Act in comparison with other countries, arguments for and against euthanasia, and consideration of relevant legal and practical issues. METHOD: Structured descriptive summary of criteria for medical euthanasia in various jurisdictions currently allowing the practice, compared with New Zealand legislation. Narrative review of arguments for and against euthanasia with reference to existing medical literature and legal cases. RESULTS: A strong case for medical assistance in dying, based on autonomy and quality of life arguments, is countered by a long history of medical and legal tradition protecting life. CONCLUSION: This highly contentious issue is coming before the New Zealand public as a referendum in October 2020. The results will have profound implications for medical practice as well as reflecting societal shifts in attitudes toward death and dying.

[Forensic implications of humane self-chosen death in the Netherlands]. / Zelfgekozen levenseinde: een forensisch dilemma.

Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, some individuals decide to plan their self-chosen death without the help of a physician. 'Right-to-die' organisations provide advice about humane deaths, which include voluntary refusal of food and fluids, the helium method and use of a lethal overdose of medication. It is known that suicides are sometimes influenced by the media and internet. Since 2013, 'right-to-die' organisations have informed individuals about the use of a deadly barbiturate overdose and the helium method. A rise in suicides resulting from these methods has subsequently been observed in the Netherlands. Suicides are recorded as deaths resulting from unnatural causes and are therefore investigated by a forensic physician, forensic investigator and tactical investigator. Investigation should determine the cause of death and rule out a staged crime, 'criminal' assisted suicide or an accident.