LAUSR

ABSTRACT A decision to accept death and forego life-extending medical procedures can be both rational and irrational. This article reviews perspectives on death from the viewpoint of behavioral economics, which relies on psychology as the basis of decision-making in this regard. According to behavioral economics, both the benefits of living and the costs of death should be emphasized so that a person who is thinking about suicide reconsiders that option and, hopefully, changes his or her mind and tries to safeguard life and avoid life-threatening risks. One way to make dying decisions more rational is to write out a living will or advance directives to help doctors understand a patients’ intentions with regard to decisions about dying should they become unable to articulate that intention at some later, critical, life-or-death situation. Living wills and advance directives can therefore reduce the chances of mercy killing or euthanasia, especially in the context of a developing country, especially when life-extending technologies are limited.