5人に1人

Peter Walker “One in five Dutch doctors would help physically healthy patients die” http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/17/assisted-dying-dutch-doctors-patient-law-netherlands


「5人に1人」というのは実行した経験があるという人ではなく、あくまでもそう考えたことがある人の割合。実行したと答えたのは2%。和蘭では積極的安楽死が合法化されているが、アムステルダム自由大学*1のEva Bolt氏が行った安楽死(euthanasia)を巡る医師たちへのアンケート調査の話。


Almost one in five Dutch doctors would consider helping someone die even if they had no physical problems but were “tired of living”, according to one of the most comprehensive academic studies of such attitudes.

The research, in which almost 1,500 GPs, geriatric care doctors and clinical specialists answered a detailed, anonymous survey, also found that 2% of them said they had taken part in such euthanasia or assisted suicide without medical grounds for a patient who was suffering, even though this is prohibited under Dutch law.

The paper, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, also found that 40% of the doctors said it was conceivable they would help someone in the early stages of dementia to die, while 3% had done so. Just over a third said they might also be willing to assist people with a psychiatric disease who wished to end their life.

40%の医師が痴呆症(認知症)の初期段階での安楽死を考慮したことがあり、3%が実行したことがあるというのは、やはり衝撃的といえるだろうか。
和蘭安楽死が合法化されているといっても、勿論「耐え難い苦しみ」とか改善の見通しがないといった限定はされている。しかし、法の中でそうした条件が具体的に記述されているわけではない*2

Nonetheless, the study found that 18% of the Dutch doctors would consider helping someone to die without them having any physical affliction if they were “tired of living”. Also, 27%, said they would possibly assist in a death of someone who had a medical condition but not a serious one. The authors concede that the self-selecting nature of the respondents – about 800 doctors were sent the questionnaire but did not return it – could skew the results slightly.

Eva Bolt, at VU University in Amsterdam, who led the study, said doctors seeking to help end the life of someone free from physical problems would be breaking the law. However, she added, this did not mean the 2% who admitted doing so had committed a crime: “It’s hard to say – it’s possible that these are physicians that performed euthanasia years ago, when there was no law, so we can’t say they didn’t abide by the law.”

健康な人の安楽死を考慮した人は18%。実行したという人が2%。そう重篤でもない患者の安楽死を考慮したことがある人が27%。
和蘭において安楽死する人の推移;

The number of Dutch people taking advantage of assisted dying has increased considerably since 2002. In 2013, the last year for which data has been compiled, 4,829 people chose to get assistance from a doctor in end their lives.

Dementia is among the medical conditions seen as legitimately providing grounds for people to seek help in dying, even if it is at an early stage, though this is rare. In 2013, 97 people in the Netherlands with dementia died through euthanasia or assisted suicide. Virtually all these cases involved the early stages of the condition.

安楽死を拒否する医師たち;

Of those saying they would refuse any request to help someone die, two-thirds were religious, according to Bolt. But even among these, she added, the vast majority said they would be happy to refer the patient to a doctor who might be willing to help, and hardly any wanted the law repealed.
和蘭安楽死ということだと、どうしてもイアン・マキューアンの小説『アムステルダム*3を想起してしまう。また、安楽死に対する哲学的批判としては、小泉義之『病いの哲学』*4小松美彦『自己決定権は幻想である』を取り敢えずマークしておく*5
アムステルダム (新潮文庫)

アムステルダム (新潮文庫)

病いの哲学 (ちくま新書)

病いの哲学 (ちくま新書)

自己決定権は幻想である (新書y)

自己決定権は幻想である (新書y)