Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

It would be relevant to know, of the 'involuntary' numbers, how many of those were statutory involuntary and for what reasons.

My hope is that in the majority of those cases the paperwork either just didn't get finished in time, or that the subject in some way did actually want this but started the process too late to be clearly of their own decision.




Reading the PDF (http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/nejmsa071143):

"When life was ended without the explicit request of the patient, there had been discussion about the act or a previous wish of the patient for the act in 60.0% of patients, as compared with 26.5% in 2001. In 2005, the ending of life was not discussed with patients because they were unconscious (10.4%) or incompetent owing to young age (14.4%) or because of other factors (15.3%). Of all cases of the ending of life in 2005 without an explicit request by the patient, 80.9% had been discussed with relatives. In 65.3% of cases, the physician had discussed the decision with one or more colleagues"

So, part of this is due to the fact that the law states that doctors must check that the patient consents _now_ with the choice. A written statement that, for example, one doesn't want to live on with Alzheimer's when one has reached a well-described state is not sufficient.


So you're essentially hoping that these people, who did not give explicit consent, actually (and perhaps secretly) did want to be killed?

My hope is that where paperwork did go through, no person was uncertain or regretted their life-altering decision (which, for example, increases suicide risk in one's family twofold). But I doubt that either of our hopes lives up to reality.


> increases suicide risk in one's family twofold

Euthanasia increases suicide risks as opposed to dying painfully of natural causes?


> increases suicide risk in one's family twofold

What is the baseline here? Could you provide a source?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: