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Sammanfattning

The present article takes as its point of departure a discussion of the rationality of suicide from a philosophical point of view. It goes on to explain and define the terms “euthanasia” and “physician-assisted suicide”, which are both given a moral interpretation as forms of controlled, medicalised suicide. Subsequently, a description is offered of how normalised both practices have become in the BeNeLux countries, and that this phenomenon may be seen as an expression of an individualistic culture in which control of one’s own death has gained increased importance over the years. The article also delineates in what way the practice of assisted suicide in Switzerland is particular in that health care personnel are involved in a quite limited fashion. There follows a presentation of research carried out in Norway directed at cancer patients regarding their views of, and attitudes towards, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. It is also pointed out that a wish for either type of unnatural death can be very complex. The article ends by casting doubt on the idea that we know our own best interests, and it is suggested that we are less rational than we normally see ourselves as.

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