TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2007//
TI  - Suicide in old age: Illness or autonomous decision of the will?
JO  - Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
A1  - Ruckenbauer, G.
A1  - Yazdani, F.
A1  - Ravaglia, G.
SP  - 355
EP  - 358
VL  - 44
IS  - Suppl
N2  - Depression, often accompanied by suicidal behavior or recurring thoughts about suicide, is one of the most common psychic impairments in old age. Statistics in Austria tell us clearly: Suicidal candidates among the elderly are likely to succeed. Especially in men, suicide has become a significant cause of death. In an age where traditional family structures are beginning to fall apart, and where the elderly increasingly feel to be a "burden" to society, unable to find their place, we tend to look at suicide more and more as a voluntary and autonomous decision, thus rationalizing it as in: "This life I would not want to live either". But is it permissible for physicians to consider a patient, who has acted suicidal, to be "not ill," or to have acted "with good reason"? The present paper shall critically revisit the concept of "rational suicide." What I hope to illuminate is the tension between medical care for, and autonomy of the patient that physicians have to negotiate in their work.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0167-4943
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2007.01.048
ID  - ref1
ER  -