Euthanasia: The Fear of Becoming a Burden

It has been widely documented in the medical literature that terminal patients often choose to end their lives out of the fear of becoming a burden to their family. But the real size of the burden, in particular its emotional component, is only known by the patient´s family. I analyze the impact of legalizing euthanasia on the ability of the family to communicate with the patient through a cheap talk model. I argue that, if euthanasia is legalized, either the patient makes his decision (of whether or not to commit suicide) uninformed of the size of the burden; or chooses what his family would have chosen if it had the power, and not necessarily what he would have preferred. I also consider the role of the physician and argue that, if the physician anticipates the family´s influence in the patients decision, providing incentives for the physician’s interests to be aligned with the patients might not be on the patients best interest.