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Euthanasia and psychiatric patients: a Spanish glance to the Dutch experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

P. Albarracin ,
F. Mayor ,
M. Aparicio  and
E. Herrero
P. Albarracin*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain), Madrid, Spain
F. Mayor
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain), Madrid, Spain
M. Aparicio
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain), Madrid, Spain
E. Herrero
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Clinico San Carlos (Madrid, Spain), Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The recent approval of euthanasia in the Spanish legal code and its posible extension to psychiatric patients opens an unprecedented scenario in the Iberian country. We analize the experience of the Netherlands, a country where euthanasia has been in practice for over two decades, in order to foresee epidemiological trends that could be replicated in Spain.

Objectives

To review the legislation on euthanasia in Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the epidemiological data regarding euthanasia applicants affected by mental health conditions in the Netherlands, to predict future epidemiological trends in a similar population in Spain.

Methods

We studied the legislation on euthanasia in Spain and the Netherlands, as well as the directives of the Regional Commisions for Euthanasia in the Netherlands to analize differences and similarities between the legal codes on both countries. We also sought epidemiological data regarding the application of euthanasia on psychiatric patients in the Netherlands, gathering data from seven articles in English language obtained through a search in PubMed using the MeSH terms “Euthanasia” AND “Netherlands” and “Psychiatry”.

Results

Euthanasia on psychiatric patients in the Netherlands has been a practice on the rise during the last decade, despite the elevated proportion of rejected applications and the high survival rate of this patients in later longitudinal studies. Affective disorders and personality disorders stand out as major psychiatric causes between the applicants. The Spanish legislation bears important resemblance to its Dutch predecessor, but also significant differences.

Conclusions

The available data on the application of euthanasia on mental health patients in the Netherlands show an in increasing trend regarding the execution of this practice, specially on patients who gather distinct clinical features. The data provided by the Dutch experience could have some replication in Spain, as well as anticipate possible future ethical conflicts regarding the application of this service.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S874
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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