BACKGROUND: Decisions to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging treatment in terminally ill patients are common in some areas of medical practice. Information about the frequency and background of these decisions is generally ...

BACKGROUND: This study compares attitudes and practices concerning the end-of-life decisions between physicians in the United States and in the Netherlands, using the same set of questions. METHODS: A total of 152 physicians ...

BACKGROUND: An important issue in the debate about terminal sedation is the extent to which it differs from euthanasia. We studied clinical differences and similarities between both practices in the Netherlands. METHODS: ...

BACKGROUND: In 2002, an act regulating the ending of life by a physician at the request of a patient with unbearable suffering came into effect in the Netherlands. In 2005, we performed a follow-up study of euthanasia, ...

Empirical data on the rate of euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and other end-of-life decisions have greatly contributed to the debate about the role of such practices in modern health care. In the Netherlands, the ...