Playing God (Gott)

Playing God

German National Library of Science and Humanities, Berlin Meeting of the German Ethics Council

May I ask for silence?

I open today's meeting of the Ethics Council.

Thank you very much for coming.

The Council acts on its own initiative.

This concerns the following case:

Richard Gartner, whom I welcome here,

requested from the Federal Institute for Drugs

a dose of sodium pentobarbital.

The drug is used for euthanasia in other countries.

Mr. Gartner stated that he wanted to take his own life.

What is unusual is that

Mr. Gartner is not terminally ill, but perfectly healthy.

Nevertheless, he wants to take his own life.

That's sick!

No interruptions! We will hear all arguments.

The Federal Institute refused to release the medication.

Thereupon, Mr. Gartner asked his family doctor

for assistance in his suicide.

So much for the facts.

Should a doctor assist a person in committing suicide?

Would that be ethically right?

We will discuss this today.

We have invited Mr. Gartner and his lawyer, Mr. Biegler.

Three experts will assist us.

Professor Litten, Faculty of Law.

Professor Sperling from the German Medical Association.

Bishop Thiel.

And Dr. Brandt, Mr. Gartner's family doctor.

Ladies and gentlemen,

your opinion will also be taken into account.

As members of the Ethics Council you are independent.

Your advice is intended to help with an important ethical question.

Should a person, like Mr. Gartner, have the right

to end his life with the help of a doctor?

Let us begin.

Mr. Gartner,

thank you for making your case public.

Please, describe your request.

I want to die.

Why? You're not sick, are you?

No, no.

Apart of a few minor ailments of old age, I'm quite healthy.

Then why do you want to die?

I don't want to live anymore.

Would you explain it?

I am 78 years old.

I was married for 42 years.

My wife,

Elisabeth, died three years ago.

What did she die of?

Brain tumor.

As big as a ping-pong ball.

In a clinic.

What did you do for a living?

I,

I was an architect.

When did you stop working?

After Elisabeth's death.

- Do you have children? - Yes.

Two sons.

And three grandchildren.

Does your family know about your wish to die?

Yes, of course, the children.

Since Elisabeth's death, we've discussed this again and again.

All the arguments, up and down.

They have,

well,

accepted it.

The grandchildren are still very young.

What has changed for you since your wife died?

Everything.

Elisabeth and I

used to go to charitable organizations,

cultural associations,

to theaters,

to concerts,

to art openings, to invitations. We traveled a lot.

We wanted to see the whole world.

I gave all that up.

Alone,

I can't do that.

I miss her.

I miss her when I wake up, when I fall asleep.

I miss her in everything I do. Everything I see.

She's gone.

And I'm still here.

That's not right.

That's not right. Not after 42 years.

Is it impossible to find meaning in life again

through your grandchildren?

My grandchildren are wonderful, but

I can't

I can't.

You see, since Elisabeth's death

I'm only half the person I used to be.

No, that's not true.

I have lost touch with myself,

completely lost touch with myself.

I just want to die in peace.

I understand.

- Any more questions, Dr. Keller? - Thank you.

Mr. Biegler, perhaps?

Richard,

why don't you want a completely normal death?

Life means nothing to me anymore.

I don't want to end up in a hospital, hooked up to tubes.

I don't want to become demented, but rather die properly.

The way I lived.

Tell us of Elisabeth's death.

She died in a hospital.

Yes.

Did she suffer?

For a year and a half.

Pain, incapacitation, falls with fractures.

Helplessly.

Confusion. All which one fears.

She was in a very bad state.

And...

Please, forgive me, but

in the end, she asked the doctors for redemption.

That's what she called it, yes.

She was a believer.

Did she receive any medication?

No.

She asked me to get her something,

to end her suffering.

I couldn't do it.

I didn't even know how.

The doctors gave her a lot of morphine at some point.

Did she die peacefully?

I don't know.

I don't know, it still pains me.

I was only out for half an hour.

When I came back, she was dead.

Please, don't ask any more.

There's one more thing you have to say.

Why are you here?

Elisabeth was always very committed.

She was a very political person.

Shortly before she died, she asked me

in the hospital:

"Do it right."

"Your suicide is meant to point beyond it."

Elisabeth wanted me

to solve the problem

that made her suffer for so long.

This problem, which now is tormenting me,

by making it public.

That's why I'm here.

I want

everyone to understand that it's OK my desire to die.

I want people like me to get HELP.

I want to die.

And

it is not immoral,

it is not selfish, either.

And not sick.

I have no more questions.

Thank you very much.

- I know how difficult this is. - Yes ?

Dr. Brandt, please.

Dr. Brandt, is Mr. Gartner your patient?

Yes.

Mr. Gartner asked you to help him suicide?

One year after his wife's death, it was the first time.

After the Federal Institute denied his request for medication

he came to me.

We discussed about it, but Mr. Gartner could not be dissuaded.

What is your opinion on Mr. Gartner's wish to die?

I do not want to assist in a suicide.

Furthermore, I also doubt whether it would be right for other doctors

to help their patients with this.

You don't see he has depression!

Dr. Brandt,

does Mr. Gartner suffer from depression?

No, he's just sad.

I have two short expert opinions that confirm Ms. Brandt's statement.

From a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

According to the expert opinions, Mr. Gartner is neither mentally ill,

nor is there a disorder that would prevent him

from asserting his values.

Dr. Brandt, are there any doubts about the experts' qualifications?

No.

Do you know if Mr. Gartner's wish was influenced by anyone?

That is not in his character.

One of his sons tried to persuade him out of it.

One last question.

Did you talk to Mr. Gartner about other methods of suicide?

- I advised him against it. - Why?

I worked in an emergency room.

There you could see many failed suicide attempts.

Describe some.

Let's take hanging.

Statistically, over 50% of the suicide attempts by hanging

often fail.

The rope breaks, beams or other supports give way.

People who survive

suffer severe, irreparable injuries.