Reporting of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands: descriptive study

BMC Medical Ethics

Table 1 Characteristics of the patient's request.(Questions phrased from the standard form of the reporting physician)

	n = 158 %
Was the patient, while expressing the request, fully aware of the implications of his or her request and of his or her physical situation?
No	1¹
Yes	99
If yes, from what circumstances did you make these conclusions? ²
Patient was clear headed	65
Patient's request was repeated several times	23
Patient had no mental problems	13
Patient was aware about his situation and prospects	10
Physician knew the patient very well	4
Other³	15
Not clearly specified in physicians' report	5
Are there indications that the patient's request was expressed under pressure from others?
No	100
Was a written euthanasia declaration available?
Yes	97

1 case.
2. More than one answer could be given, open question.
3. Other includes: Family was convinced that the request was well-considered, patient's request had been judged by another physician, availability of an advance directive, patient always wanted to decide for himself.

ISSN: 1472-6939