Citation

Hagens M, Pasman HRW, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD. Omega (Westport) 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Baywood Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0030222820926771

PMID

32484034

Abstract

This study describes the characteristics of-and the counseling received by-counselees who passed away through self-ingesting self-collected lethal medication after receiving demedicalised assistance in suicide. We analyzed registration forms filled in by counselors working with Foundation De Einder about 273 counselees who passed away from 2011 to 2015. The majority of these counselees had a serious disease and physical or psychiatric suffering. Half of them had requested physician assistance in dying. This shows that patients with a denied request for physician assistance in dying can persist in their wish to end life. This also shows that not all people with an underlying medical disease request for physician assistance in dying. Physicians and psychiatrist are often uninvolved in these self-chosen deaths while they could have a valuable role in the process concerning assessing competency, diagnosing diseases, and offering (or referring for) treatment.

Language: en

Keywords

counseling; suicide; assisted dying/suicide; euthanasia; right to die