Self-Determined Death

Doctor: “We Must Also Accept It When Enough Is Enough”

Self-determined death: This has been legally possible in Austria since 2022. Palliative care physician Christina Kaneider (right) advises and supports people on their journey.(Bild: Krone-Collage/Silvia Schober)

On All Saints’ Day, we remember those who have already passed away. And that’s a good thing. But we could do more: “Perhaps this would be a good opportunity not only to remember the dead, but also to listen to the living when they talk about their own deaths,” says palliative care physician and medical ethicist Christina Kaneider.

When Christina Kaneider reveals what she does for a living, it usually elicits great astonishment: She accompanies people at the end of their lives—and also provides counseling on advance directives and assisted suicide. Those around her react with curiosity, sometimes with awe, and sometimes with remarks like, “I could never do that.”