Table 1 Overview of frames that result in a problematising definition or a deproblematising definition of palliative care and euthanasia
From: Frames and counter-frames giving meaning to palliative care and euthanasia in the Netherlands
Problematizing frame | Definition | Deproblematizing counter-frame | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
1A Fear of dying | Palliative care is terminal care, the beginning of the end | 1B Quality of life | Palliative care is multi-faceted support for patients and relatives |
2A Heavy burden | Palliative care is a difficult responsibility for the patient's relatives | 2B Completion | Palliative care is a significant, valuable and enriching experience |
3A Thou shalt not kill | Committing euthanasia is a crime of humanity against life, a criminal offence | 3B Mercy | Granting euthanasia is an act of charity for a suffering fellow person |
4A Slippery slope | Euthanasia is the light-minded liberal solution in a society | 4B Prevention | Euthanasia is guiding people who want to die in a well-considered way (= donorship) |
5A Lack of willpower | Euthanasia as a sign of refusing to see suffering as part of life | 5B Triumph of reason | Euthanasia is a victory of human reason over death, an act of heroism |
6A I am not God | Euthanasia is a heavy decision about another person's end of life | 6B Absolute autonomy | Euthanasia is a decision about one's own moment of death |
7A Medical progress | Euthanasia deprives man of opportunities offered by medicine | 7B Economic utility thinking | Euthanasia puts an end to the untenable health care costs |