fear of death , page-79

That required, I think, the opinions of three doctors, one a psychiatrist, to agree that the patient genuinely wished for and met the conditions for voluntary euthanasia.

I wonder why one has to be a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist. This may just be displaying my general ignorance on the roles of psychiatrists and psychologists.

Here is some info on the subject in Australia.
Euthanasia in Australia

I have been looking at a few websites on the subject and realised that there is a wide range of opinions and many hooks on the issue. For example one opinion is that the process should be driven by the patient, but at what point does he/she cease to have the ability to control such a process.

There may be a case of making rules for particular circumstances.

For example a person may write into his/her will that if he/she loses all awareness, and relies entirely on life support that the support systems should be turned off. The challenge may be to really know that the person has lost all awareness.

A person suffering from some terminal condition that causes pain that cannot be controlled by any drugs may have a case for ending his/her life. Life becomes so unbearable that he/she would like to end it.

I suppose that the complexity of the issue makes it more important that experts need to be consulted in the process. A challenge may also to be to find experts who focus entirely on the needs of the patients and not on their own emotions.

It is a difficult topic - but that is a reason to tackle it head on rather to sweep it under the carpet. After all it is an issue that could very likely directly or indirectly affect any of us.

I believe that we are a caring society - and that's an excellent start.