PRACTICAL REASONS AND REASONABLE PRACTICE - THE CASE OF EUTHANASIA INTHE NETHERLANDS

Since the early 1970s the issue of euthanasia has been intensely debat ed in The Netherlands, Through these debates knowledge about medical p ractices involving the end of life was no longer confined to medical o r legal quarters, but became public to a large extent. Following publi c opinion changes, the legal reaction to euthanasia changed. By prosec uting test cases the public prosecutors allowed the Dutch Supreme Cour t to formulate specific conditions in which euthanasia would go unpuni shed, The political debate about changing the criminal law which still holds that euthanasia is a serious crime, developed at a much slower pace. Several extensive empirical studies were undertaken to gain vali d knowledge about the medical practices, This article is concerned wit h a presentation of the various debates and the changes that took plac e in the fields of criminal law politics, and medicine, The main concl usion is the hypothesis that a more open climate for medical practices concerning the end of life allows society to better control these pra ctices.