Should Doctors Suggest Euthanasia to Their Patients? Reflections on Dutch Perpectives

Abstract

During the summer of 1999 and in April 2002 I went to the Netherlands in order to meet some of the leading authorities on the euthanasia policy. They were asked multiple questions. This study reports the main findings to the question: should doctors suggest euthanasia to their patients? Some interviewees did not observe any significant ethical concerns involved in suggesting euthanasia. For various reasons they thought physicians should offer euthanasia as an option. Two interviewees asserted that doctors don't propose euthanasia to their patients. Five interviewees objected to physician's initiative.

Keywords: euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, physician-patient relationship, voluntariness