Objective In Belgium, people with an incurable psychiatric disorder can file a request for
euthanasia claiming unbearable psychic suffering. For the request to be accepted, it has to …

Background Euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) of psychiatric patients is legal
in some countries but remains controversial. Objective This study examined a frequently …

Background Decision-making capacity is a key concept in contemporary healthcare ethics.
Previous research has mainly focused on philosophical, conceptual issues or on evaluation …

Objective To compare assessments of the decision-making competencies of psychiatric
inpatients as provided by physicians, nurses, relatives and an assessment tool. Methods …

Background Euthanasia and assisted suicide (EAS) have been legally possible in the
Netherlands since 2001, provided that statutory due care criteria are met, including:(a) …

In March 2008 the Flemish writer, poet and artist Hugo Claus died in the age of 78. It was
communicated that it had been already known for a couple of years that he suffered from …

Abstract Background In May 2013 a new Assisted Dying Bill was tabled in the House of
Lords and is currently scheduled for a second reading in May 2014. The Bill was informed …

Objective Patients with terminal illness often face important medical decisions that may carry
ethical and legal implications, yet they may be at increased risk for impaired decisional …

Background Evaluation of decision-making capacity to consent to medical treatment has
proved to be difficult in patients with dementia. Studies showed that physicians are often …

Objectives: To discover what factors affect lay people's judgments of the acceptability of
physician assisted suicide and euthanasia and how these factors interact. Design …