[The ambivalent wish to die in older people without severe illness]

Currently, in the Netherlands, there is wide debate about the legalization of assisted suicide of older people who consider their lives to be "completed" without being severely ill. Robust scientific knowledge is required for careful policy decisions. Since 2012, I have been doing research in this field. In this article, I map out the current state of play: which older people are we talking about? What are the circumstances and characteristics of older people who have a death wish while not having a severe illness? And: what is the nature of their death wish? The findings demonstrate that the term "completed life" is inappropriate within this framework. It seems better to just speak of a death wish, since this offers space to recognize the variety of considerations and circumstances underlying said death wishes.