- Entity ID:
- assisted-suicide
- Long Name:
- Assisted suicide
- Entity Type:
- concept
- Entity Subtype:
- theological
- Summary:
- Assisted suicide is suicide committed with the aid of another person, sometimes a physician. The term is often used interchangeably with physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which involves a doctor "knowingly and intentionally providing a person with the knowledge or means or both required to commit suicide, including counseling about lethal doses of drugs, prescribing such lethal doses or supplying the drugs."
Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Switzerland allow physicians to physically assist in the death of patients. The United States has authorized medical aid in dying in six states, which refers to a terminally ill person with 6 months or less to live taking a medication prescribed by a doctor; this is legally distinguished from physician assisted suicide per the individual state laws. Assisted suicide is prohibited by common law or criminal statute in all U.S.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia are sometimes combined under the umbrella term "assisted dying". Other related terms include "physician-assisted dying", "physician-assisted death", "aid in dying", "death with dignity", "right to die", "compassionate death", "compassionate dying", "end-of-life choice", and "medical assistance at the end of life".
Physician-assisted suicide is often confused with euthanasia (sometimes called "mercy killing"). In cases of euthanasia the physician administers the means of death, usually a lethal drug. In physician-assisted suicide (PAS), it is required that the person voluntarily expresses his or her wish to die, and also makes a request for medication for the purpose of ending his or her life. Physician-assisted suicide thus involves a person’s self-administration of deadly drugs that are supplied by a doctor.
–Wikipedia
- Is An Individual:
-
No
- Is Published:
-
Yes