Negotiating a Good Death Euthanasia in the Netherlands

• Preface. Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Twenty-Five Years of Debate
• The Present Study
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Death and the Anthropologist: On the Problem of Studying Euthanasia
• The End: The Death of David
• Emotion and the Anthropology of Death
• Participant Observation
• Performative Ethnography
• Chapter 2. Euthanasia According to the Rules
• The Endoscopy Room
• The Attending Physician
• Mrs. Kees
• The Son
• The Psychologist
• The Second Opinion
• Dr. Van Ham
• The Head Nurse
• The Daughter
• Euthanasia
• The Coroner
• The Anesthetist
• The Euthanasia Request
• The Participants
• Did She Really Want to Die?
• The Rules of Due Care
• On the Role of the Researcher Once More
• Chapter 3. Where the Responsibility Lies
• Mrs. Van Nelle
• She Wants Euthanasia, but She is Afraid to Take the Responsibility
• Increasing the Morphine
• Was She Suffering Unbearably?
• Did She Really Want to Die?
• Dr. Glas's Intention
• Assuming Responsibility
• Chapter 4. The Line Between Euthanasia and Symptom Alleviation
• Mr. Strasser's Denial
• The Reversal
• Gerrit Knol's Interpretation
• Dr. Schuyt's Interpretation
• Was It Euthanasia or Just Symptom Alleviation?
• Chapter 5. Coping with Pressure from the Family
• Mrs. Lanser
• Mrs. Jones
• The Euthanasia Requests, the Relatives, and the Conservative Option
• Chapter 6. A Reflexive Intermezzo
• Dialogue
• The Doctors' Discussion
• Themes
• Chapter 7. Turning off Mr. Joost's Respirator
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• The Joost Family
• Shifting the Boundary
• Turning Off the Respirator
• What the Nurses Said, and What They Meant
• Doubt, Uncertainty, and Hesitation
• Chapter 8. When Doctors Refuse a Euthanasia Request
• Mr. Oosten's Euthanasia Request
• Mr. Oosten's Death
• The Nursing Records
• The Doctors' Interpretations
• When Is Euthanasia Negotiable?
• Euthanasia and Alleviation
• Chapter 9. The Negotiation Process
• Prerounds Discussion on the AIDS Ward
• Background of the Euthanasia Request
• The Request
• Bryan Mayflower
• The Request Considered
• Preparations
• The Mystery
• Dr. Edelman and the AIDS Patients
• Was It the Right Decision?
• Chapter 10. Unreported Euthanasia
• Uncle Max's Story
• Increasing the Morphine
• Euthanasia
• Where Was the Specialist? Dr. Schuyt's Explanation
• The Reason Why
• Chapter 11. The Social Context of Euthanasia
• The Patients
• The Relatives
• The Ideology of Easy Death
• Control and the Negotiation of a Good Death
• The Doctors
• The Nurses
• The Culture of the Ward
• Language, Discouse, and Communication
• Chapter 12. What is Euthanasia?
• Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
• Euthanasia and Symptom Alleviation
• Euthanasia and the Withdrawal or Nonimplementation of Life-Prolonging Treatment
• Euthanasia As Cultural Construct
• Appendix. Euthanasia Declaration
• Notes
• References
• Index

Biography

Carlton Muson