Ethics of end-of-life decisions in cases of dementia: views of the Royal Dutch Medical Association with some critical comments.

Some of the views of the Royal Dutch Medical Association on end-of-life decisions in cases of people suffering from Alzheimer disease and related disorders are presented. The focus of the present report is on the views of the commission regarding active life termination of demented patients with or without an actual and explicit request from the patient. Some comments on these views are made, particularly regarding the notion of "loss of human dignity" (ontluistering) with respect to dementia.