In this video series, common misconceptions about "medically assisted dying" are addressed. This video answers the frequently asked question of why we don't treat human beings with the same compassion as animals when they are suffering and dying?
A claim this video makes has been contested, namely that depression is commonly assisted with requests for euthanasia or assisted suicide. In support of this, please see the ground breaking study by M.L. van der Lee et al. at [ Ссылка ]
van der Lee and his associates went into the study with a preconceived notion that requests for assisted dying and depression were not linked. They were surprised by their own findings to the contrary.
They write:
"In the protocol for the present study, we hypothesized that depressed mood would show an inverse association with requests for euthanasia. Our clinical impression was that such requests were well-considered decisions, thoroughly discussed with healthcare workers and family. We thought the patients requesting euthanasia were more accepting their impending death and we therefore expected them to be less depressed. To our surprise, we found that a depressed mood was associated with more requests."
