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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES |
Psychiatric Euthanasia
Dr. N. Yasemin OĞUZa
aDeontoloji AD, Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, ANKARA
The common characteristics of almost all arguments against euthanasia as a concept and as a procedure, is their assumption that the decision for euthanasia always stems from a death wish which originates from the patient's psychiatric disorder. These arguments adopt the attitude of psychiatry towards euthanasia as the backbone of their discourse.
In this article, the evolution, definition and ethical bases of "psychiatric euthanasia" will be discussed against the above mentioned arguments. The justifications of the authors who support psychiatric euthanasia and/or oppose to it with regard to suicide, homicide, and the euthanasia procedures in other fields of medicine, will be examined. There are two main questions to answer. Firstly, whether every death wish is a sign of mental disorder or not. If it is so, then inevitably the question will be whether one should prevent and subside it with treatment, instead of acknowledging its validity. Secondly, whether the mental patients have this kind of wish which may not be accepted as a sign of a mental disorder. Even if our answer will be "yes" to the question of whether the death wish of a mental patient can be justified under certain circumstances, the discussion on the fullfilment of this wish will still survive.Keywords: Euthanasia, psychiatric; ethics, medicalTurkiye Klinikleri J Med Ethics 2005, 13:20-25
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