5 Options in palliative care: dealing with those who want to die

Abstract

Struggle against mortality has become the main motor of developments in twentieth century medicine. However, we realize that, even with the best of our knowledge, people do have to die. Palliative medicine, which emerged in the second half of the twentieth century, accepts death as a normal part of life and supports dying terminal patients. Euthanasia is increasingly considered in some countries to be an option for solving difficult problems in terminal care. Traditionally, hospices oppose the practice of euthanasia, providing good care instead of mercy killing. In the Dutch hospice under study, physicians are frequently confronted with patients who want to die via euthanasia. Experiences gathered in this hospice show that requests for euthanasia are not all the same. Better understanding of the motives for wanting euthanasia may help to design specific interventions preventing situations that may lead to it.