“If Only I Could Start All over…” A Case Study of Spiritual Care Provision to a Patient with a Psychiatric Disorder Requesting Physician-Assisted Dying in The Netherlands

• Main Authors: Carmen Schuhmann, Marianne C. Snijdewind, Lisa van Duijvenbooden, Geert E. Smid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: spiritual care; physician-assisted dying; secular chaplaincy; humanist spiritual care; The Netherlands; euthanasia
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/9/672

In a growing number of countries, legislation permits physicians—under strict conditions—to grant a request for physician-assisted dying (PAD). Legally allowing for the possibility of granting such a request is in accordance with central humanistic values such as respect for autonomy and self-determination. The Netherlands is one of few countries where severe suffering from a psychiatric illness qualifies as a ground for a request for PAD. Central in this article is a case description of spiritual care provision in the Netherlands by a humanist healthcare chaplain to a patient requesting PAD because of psychiatric suffering. We discuss what we may learn from the case description about how spiritual caregivers may support patients who express a wish to die, and about their contribution to the care for patients with a psychiatric disorder who request PAD.