Psychiatric euthanasia, suicide and the role of gender

Br J Psychiatry. 2022 Jan;220(1):10-13. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2021.95.

Abstract

The preponderance of women among persons who request and receive euthanasia and assisted suicide based on a psychiatric condition, as shown by data from The Netherlands and Belgium, is virtually unexplored. We provide a critical discussion of this gender gap, and propose that it can inform a key debate point in the controversy over the practice, namely its conflict with suicide prevention.

Keywords: Euthanasia; assisted suicide; ethics; psychiatry and law; suicide.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Euthanasia*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders*
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Suicide, Assisted*