Euthanasia, assisted suicide and psychiatry: a Pandora's box.
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Authors
Kelly, Brendan D
McLoughlin, Declan M
Issue Date
2002-Oct
Type
Editorial
Language
en
Keywords
Death and Euthanasia
Alternative Title
Abstract
Euthanasia has been defined as ‘the bringing about of a gentle and easy death for someone suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma’ (Reference Pearsall and TrumblePearsall & Trumble, 1996). It accounts for nearly 2% of all deaths in The Netherlands, where the indications include intractable suffering (Reference Huyse and van TilburgHuyse & van Tilburg, 1993), and in April 2001 that country became the first to legalise the practice fully. Since approval of the Death with Dignity Act, initially in 1994 and again in 1997, the state of Oregon in the USA has allowed medically assisted suicide, where the physician may provide a patient with lethal drugs but may not actually administer them. The US Attorney General has recently attempted to stop this practice — a move opposed by the Oregon Medical Association. Laws permitting euthanasia were introduced in Australia's Northern Territory in 1995 but were overturned by the Australian senate 2 years later. Increasingly, mental health professionals are being challenged to consider their role in end-of-life decisions.
Several critical issues for psychiatrists have been raised with the advent of ‘physician-assisted suicide’ (PAS), which is the deliberate prescription of medication to or counselling of ill patients so that such patients may use this medication or information to end their own life (Reference Cohen, Fihn and BoykoCohen et al, 1994).
While psychiatrists specialising in old age or liaison psychiatry may have regular experience in the management of patients in the end stages of dementia or other terminal conditions, most general psychiatrists have little experience of euthanasia-related issues.
Description
Citation
Kelly, B. D., & McLoughlin, D. M. (2002). Euthanasia, assisted suicide and psychiatry: a Pandora's box. The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 181, 278–279. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.181.4.278
Publisher
License
Journal
The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
Volume
181
Issue
PubMed ID
ISSN
0007-1250