Provide Access to Information on Assisted Suicide for a Patient with a Diagnosis of Depression?: An Ethics Consultation
Abstract
Abstract. Assisted suicide (AS) is one of the most controversially discussed topics, both in bioethical academia and in clinical practice. This is especially true for psychiatric patients. In Switzerland, the organization of AS and patient accompaniment in the dying process is practiced by lay right-to-die societies (RTDS). Despite this demedicalization, healthcare professionals are increasingly encountering AS requests in their institutions and experiencing moral uncertainty. This led to a physician’s request for clinical ethics support when confronted with an elderly patient with depression asking for information on AS: When does “assistance” start and what am I supposed and willing to do? The following clinical case report discusses these ethical questions from the perspective of the clinical ethics consultants involved. By recounting and discussing this clinical ethics case, this article aims to illustrate the difficulties that arise in daily practice, the importance of guidance and support in view of controversy, the possibilities of finding pragmatic, acceptable solutions for all parties involved, and what clinical ethics consultation can contribute.
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MAiD-MD may seem irreconcilable with the valuing of recovery-oriented approaches in mental health care, and some fear that its introduction into the continuum of care will cause a paradigm shift from improving quality of life towards assessing eligibility for MAiD-MD.
“MAiD-MD may seem irreconcilable with the valuing of recovery-oriented approaches in mental health care [65], and some fear that its introduction into the continuum of care will cause a paradigm shift from a goal of improving quality of life towards a goal of assessing eligibility for MAiD-MD [28].”
From Medical assistance in dying for people living with mental disorders: a qualitative thematic review (2023) · cites this paper as [65]
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Medical assistance in dying for people living with mental disorders: a qualitative thematic review
Favron-Godbout, C., & Racine, E. (2023) · BMC Medical Ethics · doi:10.1186/s12910-023-00971-4 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“This requires facilitating communication through deliberation and considering the important values of all stakeholders [65, 70] as well as the needs of the MAiD-MD applicant.”
Background
- Authors
- Winkler, L., & Wetterauer, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Basel (CH)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Venue
- GeroPsych
- Publisher
- Hogrefe Publishing Group
- Published
- 2021-06
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 57-62
- ISSN
- 1662-9647 (ISSN-L)
- 1662-971X
- OpenAlex
- W3133724190
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 0.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- GeroPsych (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 Care and End-of-Life Issues
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
- Keywords
- assisted suicide, depression, clinical ethics consultation, moral uncertainty, physician-assisted death, elderly patients, end-of-life care, bioethics
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