Pieter Admiraal MD, PhD - Euthanasia

Name:	Pieter Admiraal, MD, PhD
Title:	Dutch euthanasia activist and anesthesiologist
Position:	Pro to the question "Should euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide be legal?"
Reasoning:	"The opponents of euthanasia say that every human being has only one wish: to survive and to live. So if a patient asks to end his life there can be only one explanation: she or he must be depressed. And, indeed, these doctors prescribe anti-depressant drugs in high doses. But, in my opinion, these doctors are unobservant and seem to be more preoccupied with their own concerns than with serving the needs of their patients. To send a terminally ill patient to a psychiatrist is an insult... The way we have legalised euthanasia in the Netherlands may be a good example for other countries. After all these years, it is in my honest opinion that every doctor has the duty to help his patients to die with dignity and that he has the right, after thorough deliberation, to do euthanasia at the request of a patient and in his interest, knowing of his responsibility to himself, the patient and the law. To carry out euthanasia is an emotional and difficult decision. I have seen my patients as friends, and every time I was sad and satisfied after euthanasia: sad to lose a friend and satisfied that I could end the suffering of that friend." "Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Doctor's Perspective," Giving Death a Helping Hand, Eds. Dieter Birnbacher and Edgar Dahl, 2008
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:	Experts MDs, JDs (Lawyers), PhDs and Religious Leaders with significant involvement in end-of-life issues. [Because end-of-life dilemmas require medical, ethical, legal, and in some case religious considerations, we view MDs, PhDs with a bio-ethical focus, and JDs/religious leaders with significant involvement as "experts" in the euthanasia debate.] [Note: Experts definition varies by site.]
Involvement and Affiliations:	Dutch euthanasia activist Retired anesthesiologist Honorary Associate, Rationalist International Member, Euthanasia Committee and Pain Committee, Health Council of The Netherlands Honorary Associate Medical Staff, Reinier de Graaf Hospital Honorary Associate, Dutch Society for Voluntary Euthanasia Honorary Associate, Dutch Society of Anesthesiology Health Profesional, 2006 World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies President, Society for the Scientific Study of Rational Suicide Founder and First President, Dutch Society for the Study of Pain Former President, Dutch Society of Anesthesiology Humanist Laureate, International Academy of Humanism, Council for Secular Humanism Recipient, Humanist Award, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) Recipient, Janet Good Memorial Award, Hemlock Society, USA, 2000 Recipient, Officer Oranje Nassau Royal decoration, 1994
Education:	PhD, Erasmus University, 1972 MD, University of Utrecht, 1956
Contact Info:	Phone: None found Fax: None found E-Mail: pv.admiraal@planet.nl Website: Rationalist International profile
Select Publications:	"Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Doctor's Perspective," Giving Death a Helping Hand, Eds. Dieter Birnbacher and Edgar Dahl, 2008 "Listening and Helping Die: The Dutch Way," Bioethics: An Anthology, 1999 "Euthanasia in the Netherlands - A Dutch Doctor's Perspective," presented at the National Convention of the Hemlock Society, Sep. 1986
Other:	Born in 1929 Has written guidelines for humane suicide in Dutch, English, German, and French
Also Quoted in:	1. Do euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide ensure a good death? 2. Are the economic pressures in the American health care system too great to safely legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide?