ABSTRACT

After recent legislation on advance directives in Germany, it has become possible to make legally binding decisions regarding one’s own end of life before actually being affected by this ‘final crisis.’ This chapter explores the views of those who are interested in advance directives but have not made a decision, yet. On the basis of a qualitative study in Germany, four distinct types of action emerging in the context of advance directives are identified: ‘radical fiction,’ ‘reflective skepticism,’ ‘bureaucratic insurance,’ and ‘competent refusal.’ The discussion focuses on the implications of the AD for individual biographies and the future of the doctor-patient relationship.