Abstract
My next question was formulated in general terms. I wondered how the interviewees felt in regard to the practice of euthanasia and whether they were content with the way in which it is conducted. The majority of interviewees expressed some reservations, but at the same time felt that the system worked relatively well and that euthanasia should be permitted. A small minority felt that the system did not work (i.e., that the Guidelines were quite often violated) and that euthanasia should not be allowed. This small minority complained that the establishment tried to silence them, labelled them as reactionaries and/or religious fundamentalists, and dismissed their point of view.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Joop van Holsteyn and Margo Trappenburg, Het laatste oordeel. Meningen over nieuwe vormen van euthanasie (Ambo, Baarn1996). Likewise, Govert den Hartogh and Egbert Schroten are satisfied with the existing arrangement. At the same time, they voice their fear that the new legislation might extend the options for euthanasia too far. For discussion on the law proposal, see H.J.J. Leenen, “Bill on Euthanasia and Assisting Suicide in the Netherlands,” European J. of Health Law, Vol. 5 (1998): 299–324
However, there are studies that show euthanasia is more prevalent in the Netherlands than in other countries. See, for instance, Martien T. Muller, Gerrit K. Kimsma and Gerrit van der Wal, “Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Facts, Figures and Fancies with Special Regard to Old Age,” Drugs & Aging, Vol. 13, No. 3 (September 1998): 185–191.
For discussion on these concepts, see Jay Katz, The Silent World of Doctor and Patient (New York: The Free Press, 1984): 142–150.
See also John Griffiths, Alex Bood and Heleen Weyers, Euthanasia and Law in the Netherlands, op. cit., pp. 299–305.
For farther deliberation, see Henk Jochemsen, “The Netherlands Experiment,” in John F. Kilner, Arlene B. Miller and Edmund D. Pellegrino (eds.), Dignity and Dying (Grand Rapids, MI.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996): 165–179.
Amy D. Sullivan, Katrina Hedberg, and David W. Fleming, “Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon — The Second Year,” New Eng. J. of Medicine, Vol. 342, No. 8 (February 24, 2000), at 600; Amy D. Sullivan et al., “Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon, 1998–2000,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 344 (February 22, 2001); Editorial, “The concerns stated by those who received suicide assistance in Oregon call into question why such a practice is needed,” American Medical News (March 19, 2001). See also Erin Hoover Barnett, “Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act influences end-of-life care across the State as doctors wrestle with prescribing pain treatment,” The Oregonian (Portland) (February 18, 2001), and http://www.ohd.hr.state.or.us/chs
Arthur E. Chin et al., “Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: The First Year’s Experience,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 340, No. 7 (February 18, 1999), p. 582.
Ezekiel J. Emanuel et al., “Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide: Attitudes and Experiences of Oncology Patients, Oncologists, and the Public,” Lancet, Vol. 347 (June 29, 1996), p. 1809.
Amy D. Sullivan et al., “Legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon—The Second Year,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 342, No. 8 (February 24, 2000), p. 601.
Linda Ganzini et al., “Physicians’ Experiences with the Oregon Death with Dignity Act,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 342, No. 8 (February 24, 2000), p. 559.
Kathleen Foley, “Dismantling the Barriers: Providing Palliative and Pain Care,” Medical Student Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 283 (January 5, 2000), p. 115.
S. Ward et al., “Patient-Related Barriers to Management of Cancer Pain,” Pain, Vol. 53 (1993): 319–324; Charles S. Cleeland et al., “Pain and Its Treatment in Outpatients with Metastatic Cancer,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 330 (1994): 592–596.
Catherine S. Magid, “Pain, Suffering, and Meaning,” Medical Student Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 283 (January 5, 2000), p. 114.
To institute effective pain control, new programs for the training and certification of palliative care consultants need to be developed and implemented. See Franklin G. Miller et al., “Regulating Physician-Assisted Death,” New Eng. J. of Med., Vol. 331, No. 2 (July 14, 1994): 119–123; Timothy E. Quill et al., “Palliative Options of Last Resort,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 278, No. 23 (December 17, 1997): 2099–2104; P. D. Doyle et al. (eds.), Textbook of Palliative Medicine (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998); Anne Scott, “Autonomy, Power, and Control in Palliative Care,” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1999): 139–147; Janet L. Abrahm, “The Role of the Clinician in Palliative Medicine,” Medical Student Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 283 (January 5, 2000), p. 116. For further deliberation, see several articles published in JAMA, Vol. 290, No. 18 (November 12, 2003), and http://www.painandthelaw.org/
Cf. Gerrit van der Wal and P.J. van der Maas, “Empirical Research on Euthanasia and Other Medical End-of-Life Decisions and the Euthanasia Notification Procedure,” in David C. Thomasma et al. (eds.), Asking to Die (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998), p. 155.
In 1995, the annual number of requests made to doctors for euthanasia or PAS “at a later time” was estimated at 34,500, an increase of 37% as compared with 1990. In total, 9,700 explicit requests were made for euthanasia or PAS, an increase of 9%. Gerrit van der Wal and P.J. van der Maas, “Empirical Research on Euthanasia and Other Medical End-of-Life Decisions and the Euthanasia Notification Procedure,” Ibid., p. 155.
Herbert Hendin, Seduced by Death (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997), p. 148.
An advance directive (AD) is a document that allows patients to express what life-sustaining treatments they want and for whom they want to make these decisions for them. In the United States, more than forty states have enacted legislation supporting the use of ADs. For further discussion, see Joseph J. Fins, “The Patient Self-determination Act and Patient-Physician Collaboration in New York State,” N.Y. State J. of Medicine, Vol. 92 (November 1992): 489–493; Nitsa Kohut and Peter A. Singer, “Advance Directives in Family Practice,” Canadian Family Physician, Vol. 39 (May 1993): 1087–1093; Maarthen Reinders and Peter A. Singer, “Which Advance Directive Do Patients Prefer?,” Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol. 9 (January 1994): 49–51; Dallas M. High, “Families’ Roles in Advance Directives,” Hastings Center Report, Special Supplement (November-December 1994): S16–S18; Stuart Hornett, “Advance Directives: A Legal and Ethical Analysis,” in John Keown (ed.), Euthanasia Examined (N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 297–314; Hans-Martin Sass, Robert M. Veatch and Rihito Kimura (eds.), Advance Directives and Surrogate Decision Making in Health Care (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998); Lawrence P. Ulrich, The Patient Self Determination Act (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1999): 219–251; David Degarzia, “Advance Directives, Dementia, and ‘The Someone Else Problem’,” Bioethics, Vol. 13, No. 5 (1999): 373–391; D. William Molloy, Gordon H. Guyatt, Rosalie Russo et al., “Systematic Implementation of an Advance Directive Program in Nursing Homes,” JAMA, Vol. 283, No. 11 (March 15, 2000); Joan M. Teno, “Advanced Directives for Nursing Home Residents,” JAMA, Vol. 283, No. 11 (March 15, 2000); Paul Biegler, Cameron Stewart, Julian Savulescu and Loane Skene, “Determining the Validity of Advance Directives,” Medical J. of Australia, Vol. 172 (2000): 545–548. URL: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/172_11_050600/biegler/biegler.html
Van der Maas and colleagues report that a nurse or someone else sometimes performs euthanasia with a drug that was prescribed for this purpose by a physician. P.J. van der Maas, J.J.M. van Delden, and L. Pijnenborg, Euthanasia and other Medical Decisions Concerning the End of Life, op. cit., p. 193.
Martien Tom Muller, Death on Request (Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Thesis, 1996), p. 80.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2005). Views on the Practice of Euthanasia. In: Euthanasia in the Netherlands. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2251-7_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2251-7_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-2250-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2251-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive