Dr. Hannah van den Ende There were many take aways from Dr. van den Ende's lecture on euthanasia. Here's a summary of some of these;
- definition of euthanasia - deliberate termination of life by a doctor, at a patient's specific request.
- big question is should we all have the autonomy to decide on ending our life? This pro-automony philosophy is what drove the formation of the law.
- 80% of euthanasia patients in the Netherlands are cancer patients
- worldwide morphine is usually used, but there are 2 downsides, 1) you can become immune 2) its secret, you have to lie about the dosage in your medical file (not very honest way to go about things)
- criteria of due care jurisprudence
- Is it always ethical to keep someone alive with all the medical advances of today? This will become even more of a difficult question as we advance.
- In the Netherlands you have 'scen doctors' who provide a 2nd opinion. In the Netherlands the method used to conduct euthanasia is through an intravenous sleeping medication to induce a coma followed by an intravenous muscle relaxant. Total duration = 5-20 minutes. In the US (at least where it's allowed) they use physician assisted suicide, an oral method, anti-emetics, barbiturate, which is only possible with strong patients.
- In NL, physicians may refuse to give euthanasia, but in most cases they will refer you to a doctor who will perform euthanasia.
- 12-15 year olds need parents' permission
- 16-18 year olds only possible with parents' involvement
- remains an ethical debate, even the term euthanasia.
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