Is preventive suicide a rational response to a presymptomatic diagnosis of dementia? (Journal of Medical Ethics)

It may soon be possible to diagnose neurodegenerative disorders, such as early onset Alzheimer`s disease, with a high degree of accuracy well before these conditions become symptomatic. In a carefully argued and thought-provoking piece, Dena Davis (see page 543, Editor`s choice) maintains that preemptive suicide may be a rational option for those confronted with a preclinical diagnosis of impending dementia, and consequently that withholding the results of dementia research until effective treatments become available constitutes an unjustified infringement on patient autonomy. If suicide is indeed a rational course of action for some people diagnosed with dementia, then contrary to received wisdom, biomarker information indicating a high risk of dementia may be ‘actionable’ even if there is no known treatment for the condition. Preemptive suicide, Davis argues, may be motivated and justified by a mixture of other-regarding and self-regarding considerations. These include, inter alia, the wish...