Scientific foundation of responsible practice of assisted suicide. An interdisciplinary network for the analysis of normative and empirical requirements.

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jan Schildmann
• Subject Area: Public Health, Healthcare Research, Social and Occupational Medicine ; Principles of Law and Jurisprudence ; Practical Philosophy
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 532423096

The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court of 26.2.2020 on the unconstitutionality of the legal ban on promotion of suicide has clarified that people in Germany legally have the option of seeking assistance in suicide. With a view to a responsible practice of morally controversial assisted suicide (AS), normative and empirical requirements need to be defined and scientifically sound procedures for the design and assessment of the practice need to be identified. There is an urgent need for a scientific basis for the responsible practice of AS in Germany, particularly with regard to ensuring that people considering AS can make freely responsible decisions. Central to this are, on the one hand, methods for assessing the capacity for self-determination. There is lack of scientifically based instruments for the case of AS. On the other hand, there is need for normatively founded and empirically robust quality criteria for documenting and evaluating the practice of information and counseling for different scenarios in which AS is requested. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to integrate normative and empirical analysis involving scientists with respective expertise. Against this background, an interdisciplinary network is to be established to provide a scientific foundation for the responsible practice of AS. In the course of the three-year collaboration, three goals are to be achieved: 1. To develop a normatively and empirically sound procedure for assessing decisional capacity in the context of requests for AS. 2. To establish consensus on quality criteria as a basis for documenting and evaluating the practice of information and counseling for AS requests. 3. To develop a methodological framework model for the integration of normative and empirical analyses required for the evaluation of the current and future practice of AS action in Germany. The work program will be conducted with scientists from Germany who have worked scientifically on AS and related topics or methodical issues that are necessary for the successful completion of the above-mentioned tasks. In addition to the participation of senior researchers, the inclusion of scientists in the early stages of their careers will contribute to the promotion of these researchers and to the sustainability of the network's work. Further scientists and representatives of practice will be invited as guests of the scientific network.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Gabriele Meyer