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Cited by 14Ethics and bioethics in healthcarePalliative and Oncologic CareHealth, Medicine and Society

Euthanasia in psychiatry can never be justified. A reply to Wijsbek

Cowley, Christopher·2013·Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
DOI 10.1007/s11017-013-9252-6
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Abstract

In a recent article, Henri Wijsbek discusses the 1991 Chabot "psychiatric euthanasia" case in the Netherlands, and argues that Chabot was justified in helping his patient to die. Dutch legislation at the time permitted physician assisted suicide when the patient's condition is severe, hopeless, and unbearable. The Dutch Supreme Court agreed with Chabot that the patient met these criteria because of her justified depression, even though she was somatically healthy. Wijsbek argues that in this case, the patient's integrity had been undermined by recent events, and that this is the basis for taking her request seriously; it was unreasonable to expect that she could start again. In this paper, I do not challenge the Dutch euthanasia criteria in the case of somatic illness, but I argue that both Chabot and Wijsbek are wrong because we can never be sufficiently confident in cases of severe exogenous depression to assist the patient in her irreversible act. This is partly because of the essential difference between somatic and mental illness, and because of the possibility of therapy and other help. In addition, I argue that Wijsbek's concept of integrity cannot do the work that he expects of it. Finally, I consider a 2011 position paper from the Royal Dutch Medical Association on euthanasia, and the implications it might have for Chabot-style cases in the future.

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  • Non-biological social factors, such as social support, can affect chances of recovery in psychiatry.

    “Finally, our findings provide preliminary evidence for the claim that non-biological social factors, e.g. social support, can affect chances of recovery in psychiatry (Blikshavn et al., 2017; Cowley, 2013; Jansen et al., 2019; Kelly, 2017; Kissane & Kelly, 2000; Miller & Appelbaum, 2018; Pearce, 2017; Schoevers et al., 1998).”

    From Irremediability in psychiatric euthanasia: examining the objective standard (2023) · cites this paper as Cowley, 2013

  • MAiD-MD can bring some peace of mind by offering an exit option to people who fear that their suffering will be perpetual.

    “Although MAiD-MD can bring some peace of mind [18, 20, 21] by offering an exit option to people who fear that their suffering will be perpetual [22]”

    From Medical assistance in dying for people living with mental disorders: a qualitative thematic review (2023) · cites this paper as [22]

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Authors
Cowley, C.
Affiliations
University College Dublin (IE)
Corresponding author
Cowley, Christopher
ORCID
Cowley, Christopher
Venue
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2013-04-24
Volume
34
Issue
3
Pages
227-238
ISSN
  • 0166-2031 (ISSN-L)
  • 1386-7415
  • 1573-1200
DOI
10.1007/s11017-013-9252-6
OpenAlex
W2009738783
Cited by
13
References
12
Citations by year
2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
FWCI
0.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Metamedicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, Medicine and Society
Keywords
physician-assisted suicide, severe depression, patient integrity, end-of-life decisions
MeSH terms
Female, Humans, Suicide, Assisted

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