By David Albert Jones. On 27 October 1997, ‘physician-assisted suicide became a legal medical option for terminally ill Oregonians’. There are now 25 years of reports on the implementation of the Death With Dignity (DWD) Act. These give some insight into how the practice has changed since it was first introduced. The reports are all […]
Category: Euthanasia
Additional factors tending against the prosecution of suspects in cases of ‘mercy killings’ ought to concern all sides of the debate
By Rebecca Limb. Assisted dying is unlawful in England and Wales. To end or assist in the ending of another’s life out of compassion for and/or at the direction of the victim is not a defence to murder. A suspect will be prosecuted where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest […]
Decision-making in injustice: MAiD in Canada after Bill C-7
By Kayla Wiebe and Amy Mullin. In February, 2022, a Canadian citizen with a severe case of multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) requested and subsequently received medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The decision to request MAiD was made after a two-year fight to access housing that would have made living with their condition tolerable. This kind of […]
Overcoming impediments to medically assisted dying: A signal for another approach?
By Juergen Dankwort. The proposal to provide assistance with voluntary assisted dying (VAD) has grown significantly over the past two decades at an accelerating rate. Right-to-die movement societies and organizations now number over 80 from around the world, 58 of which are members of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies. However, most are […]
Suicide assistance in Switzerland: for palliative care physicians, the reality is more complex than you might think
By Martyna Tomczyk. As is well known, assistance in suicide is allowed in Switzerland. Although this practice is not explicitly regulated by law, Article 115 of the Criminal Code stipulates that assisting someone to commit suicide is only punishable if this is carried out for selfish reasons. Private right-to-die organizations have developed their activity in […]
Regulation of aid to die: the Spanish case.
By Tamara Raquel Velasco Sanz, Pilar Pinto Pastor, Beatriz Moreno-Milán, Lydia Frances Mower Hanlon, Benjamín Herreros. Since its entry into force, on 25th June 2021, euthanasia and medically assisted suicide are part of the portfolio of services of the Spanish National Health System. In this way, Spain has become the fourth European country, after the […]
Disability, mental illness, and medical assistance in dying in Canada: Recent slippery slope and social determinants of health arguments miss the mark
By Jocelyn Downie and Udo Schuklenk In its 2015 landmark Carter decision, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that the blanket criminalisation of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) unjustifiably infringes on Canadians’ rights and declared that the prohibitions were: “of no force or effect to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person […]
Medical assistance in dying—is there a case for including persons with mental illness?
By Nicholas Delva, Anees Bahji Over the last couple of decades, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) has become legal in a few developed countries. Developments in this area have been primarily driven by patients, with general support from the population. Governments have been cautious in the development of legislation, which is not surprising given that […]
Enough already about conscientious objection in voluntary assisted dying – what about the conscientious participants?
By Jodhi Rutherford There is a copious literature on conscientious objection in voluntary assisted dying (VAD), also known as MAID, voluntary euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, or death with dignity. Yet, there has been relative silence in the bioethics literature on what might motivate ‘conscientious participation’ in VAD, whereby clinicians may actively, morally, and purposively support the […]
Does euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide disrespect the disabled?
By Philip Reed. According to the way people commonly talk, laws and social practices can express certain messages. We might say that a strict immigration policy expresses an unwelcome message and disrespect to immigrants. Or a law that requires employers to provide paid family leave expresses encouragement for people to have children. This idea is […]