Why do older people oppose physician-assisted dying? A qualitative study

• Published in: Palliative medicine 2014-04, Vol.28 (4), p.353-359
• Main Authors: Malpas, Phillipa J, Wilson, Maria KR, Rae, Nicola, Johnson, Malcolm
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged - psychology; Aged, 80 and over; Attitude to Death; Auckland; Death; Dying; End of life decisions; Female; Humans; Jurisdiction; Male; New Zealand; Older people; Qualitative Research; Suicide, Assisted - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0269-2163; 1477-030X
• DOI: 10.1177/0269216313511284

Background: Physician-assisted dying at the end of life has become a significant issue of public discussion. While legally available in a number of countries and jurisdictions, it remains controversial and illegal in New Zealand. Aim: The study aimed to explore the reasons some healthy older New Zealanders oppose physician-assisted dying in order to inform current debate. Design: Recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed by the authors after some edits had been made by respondents. Setting/participants: In all, 11 older participants (over 65 years) who responded to advertisements placed in Grey Power magazines and a University of Auckland email list were interviewed for around 1 h and asked a number of open-ended questions. Results: Four central themes opposing physician-assisted dying were identified from the interviews: one’s personal experience with health care and dying and death, religious reasoning and beliefs, slippery slope worries and concern about potential abuses if physician-assisted dying were legalised. Conclusions: An important finding of the study suggests that how some older individuals think about physician-assisted dying is strongly influenced by their past experiences of dying and death. While some participants had witnessed good, well-managed dying and death experiences which confirmed for them the view that physician-assisted dying was unnecessary, those who had witnessed poor dying and death experiences opposed physician-assisted dying on the grounds that such practices could come to be abused by others.