Dying with Dignity - The Manifesto of a Doctor. The dignity of human beings must be respected even in the case of terminally ill and elderly patients. Too often, doctors disregard the wishes of their patients, doing everything that is medically and technically possible, thereby contributing more to a painful prolongation of dying than to a meaningful extension of life. However, as Michael de Ridder states, life extension should not become an end in itself. It is a passionate plea for self-determination and care at the end of life. The medical advancements of recent decades have helped countless patients, providing healing or at least relief, saving and extending lives. At the same time, high-performance medicine, as practiced in our hospitals, also has its downsides. Michael de Ridder has been working as an internist in various clinics for over thirty years.