Slotakkoord. Sterven in Nederland

The patients in nursing home Tabitha are no longer capable of taking charge over their own lives. This has consequences for everyday life, but also for the end of their lives. More than twenty years ago, patient Bram de Gooijer (73) and his wife drew up a euthanasia statement. 'If I will arrive at a mental state in which restoration to a reasonable state is not to be expected ... I want euthanasia to be executed on me', he wrote in 1985, in full possession of his faculties. Now, De Gooijer is a mere shadow of his former self and the first deliberations about euthanasia have begun. Nonetheless, he seems to suggest that he would like be treated if he gets ill. But his wife insists that he does not know what he says and his suffering should be ended. The doctor falls back on his professional code: in case of doubt, choose for the patient. But for which patient, the past or present one?