Pushing the Boundaries of Lawful Assisted Dying in the Netherlands? Existential Suffering and Lay Assistance

Authors: Ost, Suzanne; Mullock, Alexandra

Source: European Journal of Health Law, Volume 18, Number 2, 2011 , pp. 163-189(27)

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, an imprint of Brill

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Abstract:

Two matters that have a significant presence in the contemporary Dutch assisted dying debate, are the nature of the suffering required for an assisted death to be lawful, and the issue of who can lawfully assist. This article explores whether the lawful medical assisted dying model is too restrictive in failing to recognise existential suffering, considering selected case studies involving such suffering and lay assisted death. It addresses the question whether the Netherlands would take a trip down a slippery slope if the lawful model of assisted death were extended to cases where individuals are `tired of life'.

Keywords: assisted dying; the Netherlands; existential suffering; suffering from life; lay assistance

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157180911X564570

Publication date: 2011-01-01