| Assisted suicide by oxygen deprivation with helium at a Swiss right-to-die organisation. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 20211999 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
BACKGROUND: In Switzerland, right-to-die organisations assist their members with suicide by lethal drugs, usually barbiturates. One organisation, Dignitas, has experimented with oxygen deprivation as an alternative to sodium pentobarbital. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the process of assisted suicide by oxygen deprivation with helium and a common face mask and reservoir bag. METHOD: This study examined four cases of assisted suicide by oxygen deprivation using helium delivered via a face mask. Videos of the deaths were provided by the Zurich police. Dignitas provided protocol and consent information. RESULTS: One man and three women were assisted to death by oxygen deprivation. There was wide variation in the time to unconsciousness and the time to death, probably due to the poor mask fit. Swiss law prevented attendants from effectively managing the face mask apparatus. Purposeless movements of the extremities were disconcerting for Dignitas attendants, who are accustomed to assisting suicide with barbiturates. None of the dying individuals attempted self-rescue. CONCLUSIONS: The dying process of oxygen deprivation with helium is potentially quick and appears painless. It also bypasses the prescribing role of physicians, effectively demedicalising assisted suicide. Oxygen deprivation with a face mask is not acceptable because leaks are difficult to control and it may not eliminate rebreathing. These factors will extend time to unconsciousness and time to death. A hood method could reduce the problem of mask fit. With a hood, a flow rate of helium sufficient to provide continuous washout of expired gases would remedy problems observed with the mask. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Russel D Ogden; William K Hamilton; Charles Whitcher |
Related Documents
:
|
8980439 - Problems related to the definition of "distal" bypass and "secondary" patency rates. a ... 10710959 - Relationships among assisted suicide and religiousness, resources available, denial of ... 8664359 - Aids and euthanasia. 16168209 - On the critical assessment of the impact of the recent european union tissues and cells... 4742489 - The vacuum splint: an aid in emergency splinting of fractures. 3993729 - Brief or new: two pronation splints. 6361249 - Early intervention for alcohol problems. 18923729 - Pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma in hiv/aids. 15897989 - Declining incidence of invasive streptococcus pneumoniae infections among persons with ... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Case Reports; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Journal of medical ethics Volume: 36 ISSN: 1473-4257 ISO Abbreviation: J Med Ethics Publication Date: 2010 Mar |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-03-09 Completed Date: 2010-08-10 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7513619 Medline TA: J Med Ethics Country: England |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 174-9 Citation Subset: E; IM |
Affiliation:
|
Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands. rdogden@telus.net |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Administration, Inhalation Aged Aged, 80 and over Asphyxia / etiology* Attitude to Death Female Helium / administration & dosage* Humans Male Masks Middle Aged Physician-Patient Relations / ethics* Right to Die / ethics*, legislation & jurisprudence Suicide, Assisted / ethics*, legislation & jurisprudence Switzerland |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
|
7440-59-7/Helium |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Deprivation of liberty safeguards: how prepared are we?
Next Document: Advance commitment: an alternative approach to the family veto problem in organ procurement.