Suffering without hope from mental health problems
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)
Bachelor GW
Maastricht University
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, Euthanasia has probably always existed. According to Bollen (2019) even in far history it is
likely that someone who was seen as a kind of physician has helped a person to die in case
they were suffering unbearably.
Nowadays, in most countries, euthanasia or assisted suicide is considered illegal. The
difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is that, in the case of euthanasia, the
physician administers the medication, while in assisted suicide the patients take the
medication themselves (Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport, 2020).
The Netherlands was the first country in the world where active euthanasia became legal
(Buchwald, 2017). However, euthanasia or assisted suicide are only illegal in the Netherlands
provided that diligence requirements are met. These due diligence requirements are described
in the Wet toetsing levensbeëindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding - the Act on the
Assessment of Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide -, dating from 2001. This
states among other things that the physician holds the conviction that the request was
voluntary and well-considered, and that the patient’s suffering is lasting and unbearable
(World Federation of Right to Die Societies, 2001).
Most people who get euthanasia are suffering from physical pain. However, psychological
patients can qualify for euthanasia as well. In the Netherlands there is a significant increase in
the ending of the lives under euthanasia laws of people suffering from psychiatric disorders,
in 2010 two of such deaths were reported, whereas the number had risen to 56 in 2015 (Allan,
2017).
Although euthanasia or assisted suicide are legal in the Netherlands, that does not mean that a
physician is obligated to actually perform the euthanasia, even if the diligence requirements
can be met. A right to euthanasia does not exist. Fundamental objections of the physician
against euthanasia or assisted suicide have to be respected (KNMG, 2021)
If euthanasia is being denied by the physician, there is the option of the Levenseindekliniek –
the End of Life Clinic – in The Hague. This clinic will only help you if you meet all the
diligence requirements stated in the Act on the Assessment of Termination of Life on Request
and Assisted Suicide but cannot get help from your own physician. The clinic will do an
extensive investigation to determine whether they can grant your request for euthanasia. The
requests of roughly a third of the people who register at the clinic are being granted (113,
n.d.).
A question you could ask yourself about euthanasia is how a physician can make the final
decision if a request for euthanasia will be granted. After all, the physician is not able to
imagine what a person with severe psychiatric suffering is feeling and if this feeling is
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