The ongoing discussion on termination of life on request. A review from a German/European perspective

Abstract

Background

Interest in the topic of termination of life has been growing for 2 decades. After legalisation of active euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) in the Netherlands in 2002, movements to implement similar laws started in other European countries. However, many people objected to legalisation on the basis of the experiences in the Netherlands and as a matter of principal.

Methods

This selected and focussed review presents the theoretical discussions about EAS and describes the respective parliamentary discussions in Germany and the data and experiences in the Netherlands. It also considers people with mental disorders in the context of termination-of-life services.

Results

So far, only a few European countries have introduced legislation on EAS. Legalisation of EAS in the Netherlands resulted in an unexpectedly large increase in cases. The number of people with mental disorders who terminate their lives on request remains low.

Conclusions

Experience from the Netherlands shows that widening criteria for EAS has problematic consequences.

KEY POINTS

• Termination of life on request, which a subgroup of people support, is a matter of ongoing debate.

• Because of several problematic aspects, including ethical considerations, only a few countries in the world allow active euthanasia or assisted suicide.

• Even if euthanasia is well regulated, legalising it can have problematic consequences that are difficult to control, such as an unwanted excessive increase in euthanasia cases.

• The well-documented experiences with the euthanasia law in the Netherlands serve as an example of what is to be expected when euthanasia is legalised.

• We need to pay close attention to the relationship between suicide and suicide prevention on the one hand and euthanasia acts and promotion of euthanasia on the other.

• Further ethical, psychological and legal research is needed. In particular, the role of palliative medicine in societies’ approach to end-of-life care must be explored in much more detail.

Keywords:

• Termination of life on request
• euthanasia
• assisted suicide
• euthanasia epidemiology
• ethics of euthanasia
• mental disorders

Acknowledgment

The author thanks Jacquie Klesing, Board-certified Editor in the Life Sciences (ELS), for assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The author has no potential conflict of interest to report. Financial support for translation and editorial assistance was provided by the Pesl-Alzheimer Foundation.