The social-political challenges behind the wish to die in older people who consider their lives to be completed and no longer worth living.

ABSTRACT: In the Netherlands, physician-assisted dying has been legalized since 2002. Currently, an increasing number of Dutch citizens are in favour of a more relaxed interpretation of the law. Based on an ethos of self-determination and autonomy, there is a strong political lobby for the legal right to assisted dying when life is considered to be completed and no longer worth living. Building on previous empirical research, this article provides a critical ethical reflection upon this social issue. In the first part, we discuss the following question: what is the lived experience of older people who consider their lives to be completed and no longer worth living? We describe the reported loss of a sense of autonomy, dignity and independence in the lives of these older people. In the second part, f

SUBMITTER: van Wijngaarden E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6196347 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature