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10.8: Euthanasia

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    Euthanasia is defined as intentionally ending one's life when suffering from a terminal illness or severe disability (Youdin, 2016). Euthanasia is further separated into active euthanasia, which is intentionally causing death, usually through a lethal dose of medication, and passive euthanasia occurs when life-sustaining support is withdrawn. This can occur through the removal of a respirator, feeding tube, or heart-lung machine.

    Physician-assisted dying is a form of active euthanasia whereby a physician prescribes the means by which a person can die. The United States federal government does not legislate physician-assisted dying, as laws are handled at the state level (ProCon.org, 2018). Ten states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) currently allow physician-assisted dying. The person seeking physician-assisted dying must be: (1) at least 18 years of age, (2) have six or less months until expected death, and (3) obtain two oral (or least 15 days apart) and one written request from a physician (ProCon.org, 2016). Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) lists the states that allow physician-assisted dying and the date the relevant law was passed.

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\). Ten States and D.C. Allow Legal Physician-Assisted Dying.
    State Date Passed
    Oregon Passed November 8, 1994, but enacted October 27, 1997
    Washington November 4, 2008
    Montana December 31, 2009
    Vermont May 20, 2013
    California September 11, 2015
    D.C. October 5, 2016
    Colorado November 8, 2016
    Hawaii April 5, 2018
    New Jersey March 25, 2019
    Maine June 12, 2019
    New Mexico April 8, 2021
    Source  

    Since 1997 in Oregon, 2,216 people had lethal prescriptions written and 1459 patients (65.8%) died from the medication as of January 2019 (Death with Dignity, 2019) (see Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)).

    Graph showing the number of prescriptions for physician-assisted deaths written and the number of physician-assisted deaths that occurred, between 1998 and 2017.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). Image source.

    Canada and several European countries, including Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands also allow physician-assisted dying. As of 2014, Belgium is the only country that allows the right to die to those under the age of 18. Stricter conditions were put in place for children, including parental consent and the requirements that the child must be suffering from a serious and incurable disease, the child must understand what euthanasia means, and the child's death must be expected in the near future (Narayan, 2016).

    The practice of physician-assisted dying is certainly controversial, with religious, legal, ethical, and medical experts weighing in with opinions. The main areas where there is disagreement between those who support physician-assisted dying and those who do not include: (1) whether a person has the legal right to die, (2) whether active euthanasia would become a "slippery slope" and start a trend to legalize deaths for individuals who may be disabled or unable to give consent, (3) how to interpret the Hippocratic Oath and what it exactly means for physicians to do no harm, (4) whether the government should be involved in end-of-life decisions, and (5) specific religious restrictions against deliberately ending a life (ProCon.org, 2016). Not surprisingly, there are strong opinions on both sides of this topic. According to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 47% of Americans approve and 49% disapprove of laws that would allow a physician to prescribe lethal doses of drugs that a terminally ill patient could use to commit suicide (Pew Research Center, 2013). Attitudes on physician-assisted dying were roughly the same in 2005, when 46% approved and 45% disapproved.

    A statue of Hippocrates, often referred to as the Father of Medicine, in the main court of the Oxford University Museum of the Natural Sciences.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\). The Hippocratic Oath and euthanasia. Image source.

    This page titled 10.8: Euthanasia is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.