Assisted suicide: Difference between revisions

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{{Legend|#0000ffff|Physician-assisted suicide is legal.}}

{{Legend|#C0C0C0|Physician-assisted suicide is illegal.}}

'''Assisted suicide''' – alternately referred to as '''medical aid in dying''' – means a procedure in which people take medications to end their own lives with the help of others, usually medical professionals.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= |first= |date=30 October 2023 |title=assisted suicide |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/assisted-suicide |access-date=8 November 2023 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Brittanica |vauthors= |archive-date=9 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109014303/https://www.britannica.com/topic/assisted-suicide |url-status=live }}</ref> The term usually refers to '''physician-assisted suicide''' ('''PAS'''), which is an end of life measure for a person suffering a painful, terminal illness.<ref name="Assisted Suicide State Laws">{{cite web |author= |date=July 2020 |title=physician-assisted suicide |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/physician-assisted_suicide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109010201/https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/physician-assisted_suicide |archive-date=9 November 2023 |access-date= |url-status=live }}</ref> Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifies under the physician-assisted suicide laws for that location, the physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a [[Drug prescription|prescription]] for a lethal dose of drugs.

In some jurisdictions, helping a person die is illegal. People who support legalizing physician-assisted suicide want the people who assist in a voluntary death to be exempt from criminal prosecution for [[manslaughter]] or similar crimes. Physician-assisted suicide is legal in some countries, under certain circumstances, including [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Assisted suicide in Canada|Canada]], [[Germany]], [[Luxembourg]], the [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], [[Switzerland]], [[Assisted suicide in the United States|parts of the United States]] and all six states of [[Euthanasia in Australia|Australia]]. The constitutional courts of [[Colombia]], Germany and Italy have legalized assisted suicide, but their governments have not yet legislated or regulated the practice yet.

In most of those states or countries, to qualify for legal assistance, individuals who seek a physician-assisted suicide must meet certain criteria, including: having a [[terminal illness]], proving they are of [[sound mind]], [[informed consent|voluntarily]] and repeatedly expressing their wish to die, and taking the specified, lethal dose by their own hand. The laws vary in scope from place to place. In the United States, PAS is limited to those who have a prognosis of six months or less to live. In other countries such as Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, a terminal diagnosis is not a requirement and voluntary euthanasia is additionally allowed. Assisted suicide is however illegal in some countries.<ref>{{cite news|date=18 March 2021|title=Spain passes law allowing euthanasia|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56446631|access-date=12 November 2021|archive-date=25 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225042948/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56446631|url-status=live}}</ref>

Assisted suicide is contrasted to ''[[euthanasia]]'', sometimes referred to as ''mercy killing'', where the person dying does not directly bring about their own death, but is killed in order to stop the person from experiencing further suffering. Euthanasia can occur with or without [[Consent (criminal law)|consent]], and can be classified as voluntary, non-voluntary or involuntary. Killing a person who is suffering and who consents is called ''[[voluntary euthanasia]]''. This is currently [[Legality of euthanasia|legal in some regions]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What are euthanasia and assisted suicide? |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951 |website=Medical News Today |date=17 December 2018 |access-date=12 May 2020 |archive-date=27 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527153903/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182951 |url-status=live }}</ref> If the person is unable to provide consent it is referred to as ''[[non-voluntary euthanasia]]''. Killing a person who does not want to die, or who is capable of giving consent and whose consent has not been solicited, is the crime of ''[[involuntary euthanasia]]'', and is regarded as murder.

''Suicidism'' can be defined as "the quality or state of being suicidal"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Suicidism|url=http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Suicidism|access-date=30 December 2020|website=Webster's 1913 Dictionary|archive-date=13 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613055800/http://webster-dictionary.org/definition/Suicidism|url-status=live}}</ref> or as "... an oppressive system (stemming from non-suicidal perspectives) functioning at the normative, discursive, medical, legal, social, political, economic, and epistemic levels in which suicidal people experience multiple forms of injustice and violence..."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal| vauthors = Baril A |date=2020|title=Suicidism: A new theoretical framework to conceptualize suicide from an anti-oppressive perspective|url=https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/7053/5711|journal=Disability Studies Quarterly|volume=40|issue= 3|pages=1–41|doi=10.18061/dsq.v40i3.7053|doi-access=free|access-date=2 January 2021|archive-date=12 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212075202/https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/7053/5711|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some advocates for assisted suicide strongly oppose the use of "assisted suicide" and "suicide" when referring to physician-assisted suicide, and prefer phrases like "medical aid in dying" (MAiD) or "assisted dying." The motivation for this is to distance the debate from the suicides commonly performed by those not [[Terminal illness|terminally ill]] and not eligible for assistance where it is legal. They feel those cases have negatively impacted the word "suicide" to the point that it should not be used to refer to the practice of a physician prescribing lethal drugs to a person with a terminal illness.<ref>{{cite web |title=ASSISTED DYING NOT ASSISTED SUICIDE |url=https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/blog-post/assisted-dying-not-assisted-suicide/ |website=Dignity in Dying |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-date=6 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406021722/https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/blog-post/assisted-dying-not-assisted-suicide/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why medically assisted dying is not suicide |url=https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/assisted_dying_is_not_suicide |website=Dying with Dignity Canada |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-date=6 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406021722/https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/assisted_dying_is_not_suicide |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in certain jurisdictions, like Canada, "aid in dying" does not require a person's natural death to be reasonably foreseeable in order to be eligible for MAiD. Moreover, the term "[[Assisted dying (disambiguation)|assisted dying]]" is also used to refer to other practices like voluntary euthanasia and [[terminal sedation]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/50986/html|title=Assisted dying around the world: a status quaestionis|journal=Annals of Palliative Medicine|volume=10|number=3|date=March 2021|access-date=25 December 2021|archive-date=25 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225124317/https://apm.amegroups.com/article/view/50986/html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339055628|title=Las justificaciones de la muerte asistida|journal=Recerca Revista de pensament i anàlisi|number=2|date=2020|volume=25 }}</ref> In November, 2022, after deliberation at its biannual Annual General Meeting, the [[World Federation of Right to Die Societies]] discussed and adopted as the preferred term "voluntary assisted dying" in consideration of a range of aspects regarding suicidism.

Arguments in support of assisted death include respect for patient autonomy, equal treatment of terminally ill patients on and off life support, compassion, personal liberty, transparency<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Starks H |title=Physician Aid-in-Dying |url=https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/pad.html |website=Physician Aid-in-Dying: Ethics in Medicine |publisher=University of Washington School of Medicine |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502054649/https://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/pad.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ethics of responsibility.<ref name=":0" /> When death is imminent (half a year or less) patients can choose to have assisted death as a medical option to shorten what the person perceives to be an unbearable dying process.

Death With Dignity is coined as the United States national leader in end of life advocacy and policy reform. The organization has been advocating for physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia since 1994. <ref>{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Death With Dignity |url=https://deathwithdignity.org/about/ |access-date=23 February 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223022840/https://deathwithdignity.org/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pain is mostly not reported as the primary motivation for seeking physician-assisted suicide in the United States;<ref name="Attitudes2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Emanuel EJ, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD, Urwin JW, Cohen J | title = Attitudes and Practices of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide in the United States, Canada, and Europe | journal = JAMA | volume = 316 | issue = 1 | pages = 79–90 | date = July 2016 | pmid = 27380345 | doi = 10.1001/jama.2016.8499 }}</ref> the three most frequently mentioned end‐of‐life concerns reported by Oregon residents who took advantage of the Death With Dignity Act in 2015 were: decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (96.2%), loss of [[autonomy]] (92.4%), and loss of [[dignity]] (75.4%).<ref>{{cite web|title=OREGON DEATH WITH DIGNITY ACT: 2015 DATA SUMMARY|url=https://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year18.pdf|website=Oregon.gov|publisher=Oregon Health Authority|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-date=17 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517094212/http://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year18.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2016, Oregon released a report on its 2015 numbers. In 2015, there were 218 people in the state who were approved and received the lethal drugs to end their own life. Of that 218, 132125 terminallyhave illbeen patientsconfirmed to have ultimately decided to ingest drugs, resulting in their death. 50 did not ingest medication and died from other means, while the ingestion status of the remaining 43 is unknown. According to the state of Oregon Public Health Division's survey, the majority of the participants, 78%, were 65 years of age or older and predominantly white, 93.1%. 72% of the terminally ill patients who opted for ending their own lives had been diagnosed with some form of cancer. In the state of Oregon's 2015 survey, they asked the terminally ill who were participating in medical aid in dying, what their biggest end-of-life concerns were: 96.2% of those people mentioned the loss of the ability to participate in activities that once made them enjoy life, 92.4% mentioned the loss of autonomy, or the independence of their own thoughts or actions, and 75.4% stated loss of their dignity.<ref>{{cite web |title=OREGON DEATH WITH DIGNITY ACT: 2015 DATA SUMMARY |url=https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year18.pdf |website=State of Oregon |publisher=Oregon Public Health Division |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513040353/https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/ProviderPartnerResources/EvaluationResearch/DeathwithDignityAct/Documents/year18.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a 1988 General Resolution, "[[Unitarian Universalist]]s advocate the right to self-determination in dying, and the release from civil or criminal penalties of those who, under proper safeguards, act to honor the right of terminally ill patients to select the time of their own deaths".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Right to Die with Dignity: 1988 General Resolution|url=http://www.uua.org/statements/right-die-dignity|website=Unitarian Universalist Association|access-date=4 October 2016|date=24 August 2011|archive-date=23 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423193952/http://www.uua.org/statements/right-die-dignity|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some doctors<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kass L | title = Neither for love nor money: why doctors must not kill | journal = The Public Interest | volumenumber = No. 94 | pages = 25–46 | year = 1989 | volume = 94 | pmid = 11651967 | url = http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/Courses/KASSwhydoctorsmust.pdf | access-date = 8 December 2016 | archive-date = 4 June 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190604120345/http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/Courses/KASSwhydoctorsmust.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> state that physician-assisted suicide is contrary to the [[Hippocratic Oath]] (c. 400 BC), which is the oath historically taken by physicians. It states "I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel".<ref name="mit.edu">{{cite web|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/hippooath.html|title=The Internet Classics Archive – The Oath by Hippocrates|work=mit.edu|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-date=10 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210200505/http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/hippooath.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266652/Hippocratic-oath|title=Hippocratic oath|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=10 May 2024|access-date=2 June 2022|archive-date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503090637/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266652/Hippocratic-oath|url-status=live}}</ref> The original oath however has been modified many times and, contrary to popular belief, is not required by most modern medical schools, nor confers any legal obligations on individuals who choose to take it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greek Medicine – The Hippocratic Oath |date=7 February 2012 |url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html |website=History of Medicine |access-date=22 March 2018 |archive-date=7 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307132605/https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html |url-status=live }}</ref> There are also procedures forbidden by the Hippocratic Oath that are in common practice today, such as abortion and execution.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Oxtoby K |title=Is the Hippocratic oath still relevant to practicing doctors today? |journal=BMJ |date=14 December 2016 |pages=i6629 |doi=10.1136/bmj.i6629 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The [[Declaration of Geneva]] is a revision of the Hippocratic Oath, first drafted in 1948 by the [[World Medical Association]] in response to forced (involuntary) euthanasia, eugenics and other medical crimes performed in [[Nazi Germany]]. It contains, "I will respect the autonomy and dignity of my patient," as well as "I will maintain the utmost respect for human life."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-geneva/|title=WMA DECLARATION OF GENEVA|date=6 November 2017|website=www.wma.net|language=en-US|access-date=2 January 2018|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015161707/https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-geneva/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A concern present among health care professionals who are opposed to PAS, are the detrimental effects that the procedure can have with regard to vulnerable populations. This argument is known as the "[[slippery slope]]".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/opinion/07douthat.html |title=A More Perfect Death| vauthors = Douthat R |date=6 September 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 February 2017|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206030459/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/opinion/07douthat.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This argument encompasses the apprehension that once PAS is initiated for the terminally ill it will progress to other vulnerable communities, namely disabled people, and may begin to be used by those who feel less worthy based on their demographic or socioeconomic status. In addition, vulnerable populations are more at risk of untimely deaths because, "patients might be subjected to PAS without their genuine consent".<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mayo DJ, Gunderson M | title = Vitalism revitalized.... Vulnerable populations, prejudice, and physician-assisted death | journal = The Hastings Center Report | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | pages = 14–21 | date = July 2002 | pmid = 12362519 | doi = 10.2307/3528084 | jstor = 3528084 }}</ref>

The Roman [[Catholic Church]] acknowledges the fact that moral decisions regarding a person's life must be made according to one's own conscience and faith.<ref name=pmid11655313>{{cite journal | vauthors = Donovan GK | title = Decisions at the end of life: Catholic tradition | journal = Christian Bioethics | volume = 3 | issue = 3 | pages = 188–203 | date = December 1997 | pmid = 11655313 | doi = 10.1093/cb/3.3.188 }}</ref> Catholic tradition has said that one's concern for the suffering of another is not a sufficient reason to decide whether it is appropriate to act upon voluntary euthanasia. According to the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]], "God is the creator and author of all life." In this belief system God created human life, therefore God is the judge of when to end life.<ref name=pmid11655313/> From the Roman Catholic Church's perspective, deliberately ending one's life or the life of another is morally wrong and defies the Catholic doctrine. Furthermore, ending one's life deprives that person and his or her loved ones of the time left in life and causes grief and sorrow for those left behind.<ref name=Harvey2016>{{cite journal |vauthors=Harvey K |title=Mercy and Physician-Assisted Suicide |journal=Ethics & Medics |year=2016 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.5840/em201641611 |url=https://www.ncbcenter.org/files/6714/6315/1150/NCBC_EthicsMedics_June2016.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[Pope Francis]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349|title=Pope Francis Biography|date=20 April 2021|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403101052/https://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349|url-status=live}}</ref> is the current dominant figure of the Catholic Church. He affirms that death is a glorious event and should not be decided for by anyone other than God. Pope Francis insinuates that defending life means defending its sacredness.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cherry MJ |title=Pope Francis, Weak Theology, and the Subtle Transformation of Roman Catholic Bioethics |journal=Christian Bioethics |date=6 February 2015 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=84–88 |doi=10.1093/cb/cbu045 }}</ref> The Roman Catholic Church teaches its followers that the act of euthanasia is unacceptable because it is perceived as a sin, as it goes against one of the Ten Commandments. As implied by the sixthfifth commandment, [[Ten Commandments in Catholic theology#Fifth_commandmentFifth commandment|"Thou shalt not kill (You shall not kill),"]] the act of assisted suicide contradicts the dignity of human life as well as the respect one has for God.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism|title=Roman Catholicism|newspaper=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=17 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417093924/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Harvey2016/> Additionally, the Roman Catholic Church recommends that terminally ill patients should receive palliative care, which deals with physical pain while treating psychological and spiritual suffering as well, instead of physician-assisted suicide.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Yao T |title=Can We Limit a Right to Physician-Assisted Suicide? |journal=The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly |date=2016 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=385–392 |doi=10.5840/ncbq201616336 }}</ref>

[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) is against assisted suicide and euthanasia, and anyone who takes part in either is regarded as having violated the commandments of God.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/handbook-2-administering-the-church/selected-church-policies-and-guidelines/selected-church-policies|title=Handbook 2: Administering the Church – 21.3 Medical and Health Policies|publisher= Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021203917/https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/selected-church-policies|url-status=live}}</ref> However the church recognizes that when a person is in the final stages of terminal illness there may be difficult decisions to be taken. The church states that "When dying becomes inevitable, death should be looked upon as a blessing and a purposeful part of an eternal existence. Members should not feel obligated to extend mortal life by means that are unreasonable".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/euthanasia-and-prolonging-life|title=Euthanasia and Prolonging Life|work=LDS News|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=27 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627231146/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/euthanasia-and-prolonging-life|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a rigid approach, the Muslim doctor should not intervene directly to voluntarily take the life of the patient, not even out of pity (Islamic Code of Medical Ethics, Kuwait 1981); he must see whether the patient is curable or not, not whether he must continue to live. Similarly, he must not administer drugs that accelerate death, even after an explicit request by relatives; acceleration of this kind would correspond to murder. KoranQuran 3.145 states: "Nor can a soul die except by God's leave, the term being fixed as by writing"; KoranQuran 3.156 continues "It is God that gives Life and Death, and God sees well all that ye do", resulting that God has fixed the length of each life, but leaves room for human efforts to save it when some hope exists. The patient's request for his life to be ended has in part been evaluated by juridical doctrine in some aspects. The four "canonical" Sunnite juridical schools (Hanafi te, Malikite, Shafi 'ite and Hanbalite) were not unanimous in their pronouncements. For all, the request or permission to be killed does not make the action, which remains a murder, lawful; however, the disagreement concerns the possibility of applying punishments to those that cause death: the Hanafi tes are in favour; the Hanbalites, the Shafi 'ites and the Malikites are partly in favour and partly contrary to penal sanctions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nohra |first=Fouad |date=1 December 2014-12-01 |title=Pouvoir politique, droits fondamentaux et droit à la révolte : la doctrine religieuse face aux processus révolutionnaires dans le monde arabe |url=http://journals.openedition.org/revdh/922 |journal=Revue des droits de l'homme |issue=6 |doi=10.4000/revdh.922 |issn=2264-119X |doi-access=free |access-date=13 October 2023 |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006041230/http://journals.openedition.org/revdh/922 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 1995 the Muslim Medical Doctors Conference in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) reasserted that euthanasia (not better defined) goes against the principles of Islam; this is also valid in the military context, prohibiting a seriously wounded soldier from committing suicide or asking other soldiers to kill him out of pity or to avoid falling into enemy hands. <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gurcum |first1=Banu Hatice |last2=Ozcan |first2=Nazan |title=Searching for Form in Textile Art with Traditional Cit Weaving |date=2016-08-31 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7816/idil-05-24-10August 2016 |journal=Idil Journal of Art and Language |volume=5 |issue=24 |doi=10.7816/idil-05-24-10 |issn=2146-9903|doi-access=free }}</ref>

There have been calls for organisations representing medical professionals to take a neutral stance on PAS, rather than a position of opposition. The reasoning is that this supposedly would better reflect the views of medical professionals and that of wider society, and prevent those bodies from exerting undue influence over the debate.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Godlee F |title=Assisted dying: it's time to poll UK doctors |journal=BMJ |date=8 February 2018 |pages=k593 |doi=10.1136/bmj.k593 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='Neutrality' on assisted suicide is a step forward |url=https://www.nursingtimes.net/archive/neutrality-on-assisted-suicide-is-a-step-forward-31-07-2009/ |website=Nursing Times |access-date=30 December 2018 |date=31 July 2009 |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206030328/https://www.nursingtimes.net/archive/neutrality-on-assisted-suicide-is-a-step-forward-31-07-2009/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gerada C | title = The case for neutrality on assisted dying – a personal view | journal = The British Journal of General Practice | volume = 62 | issue = 605 | pages = 650 | date = December 2012 | pmid = 23211247 | pmc = 3505400 | doi = 10.3399/bjgp12X659376 }}</ref>

The UK [[Royal College of Nursing]] voted in July 2009 to move to a neutral position on PAS.<ref>{{cite web |title=RCN Position statement on assisted dying |url=https://www.rcn.org.uk/-/media/royal-college-of-nursing/documents/policies-and-briefings/uk-wide/policies/2014/2314.pdf |website=Royal College of Nursing |access-date=30 December 2018 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209042010/https://www.rcn.org.uk/-/media/royal-college-of-nursing/documents/policies-and-briefings/uk-wide/policies/2014/2314.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[California Medical Association]] dropped its long-standing opposition in 2015 during the debate over whether a Physician Assisted Suicide bill should be introduced there, prompted in part by cancer sufferer [[Brittany Maynard]].<ref>{{cite news |title=California Medical Association drops opposition to doctor-assisted suicide |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-assistedsuicide-california-idUSKBN0O52TI20150520 |access-date=21 December 2018 |newspaper=Reuters |date=20 May 2015 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233417/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-assistedsuicide-california-idUSKBN0O52TI20150520 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[California End of Life Option Act]] was signed into law later that year.

In December 2017, the [[Massachusetts Medical Society]] (MMS) voted to repeal their opposition to physician-assisted suicide and adopt a position of neutrality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Medical Society adopts several organizational policies at Interim Meeting |url=http://www.massmed.org/News-and-Publications/MMS-News-Releases/Massachusetts-Medical-Society-adopts-several-organizational-policies-at-Interim-Meeting/ |website=Massachusetts Medical Society |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233653/https://www.massmed.org/News-and-Publications/MMS-News-Releases/Massachusetts-Medical-Society-adopts-several-organizational-policies-at-Interim-Meeting/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2018, the [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] (AAFP) voted to adopt a position of neutrality from one of opposition. This is contrary to the position taken by the [[American Medical Association]] (AMA), which opposes it.<ref>{{cite web |title=COD Addresses Medical Aid in Dying, Institutional Racism |url=https://www.aafp.org/news/2018-congress-fmx/20181010cod-hops.html |website=AAFP |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206012944/https://www.aafp.org/news/2018-congress-fmx/20181010cod-hops.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2019 the British [[Royal College of Physicians]] announced it would adopt a position of neutrality until two-thirds of its members think it should either support or oppose the legalization of PAS.<ref>{{cite news |title=Doctors to be asked if they would help terminally ill patients die |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/doctors-asked-would-help-terminally-15670817 |access-date=14 January 2019 |publisher=Chronicle Live |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233434/https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/health/doctors-asked-would-help-terminally-15670817 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The American Medical Association (AMA) opposes physician-assisted suicide. In response to the ongoing debate about PAS, the AMA has issued guidance for both those who support and oppose physician-assisted suicide. The AMA Code of Ethics Opinion 5.7 reads that "Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer" and that it would be "difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks" but does not explicitly prohibit the practice. In the AMA Code of Ethics Opinion 1.1.7, which the AMA states "articulates the thoughtful moral basis for those who support assisted suicide", it is written that outside of specific situations in which physicians have clear obligations, such as emergency care or respect for civil rights, "physicians may be able to act (or refrain from acting) in accordance with the dictates of their conscience without violating their professional obligations."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Physician-Assisted Suicide |url=https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/physician-assisted-suicide |access-date=28 June 2022 |website=American Medical Association |language=en |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706132032/https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/physician-assisted-suicide |url-status=live }}</ref>

| Medscape Ethics Report, 2014<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Kane L |title=Medscape Ethics Report 2014, Part 1: Life, Death, and Pain|url=http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/public/ethics2014-part1#2|website=Medscape|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-date=5 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005173329/http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/public/ethics2014-part1#2|url-status=live}}</ref>|| U.S.-based doctors|| {{bartable|54|%}} || {{bartable|31|%}}

| Seale, 2009<ref name="seale" /> || United Kingdom physiciansdoctors (n=3,733)|| {{bartable|35|%}}
|| {{bartable|62.2|%}}

A 2019 survey of US physicians found that 60% of physicians answered 'yes' to the question "Should PAS be legalized in your state?" The survey discovered that physicians are concerned about a possible "slippery slope". 30% agreed that "PAS/AID would lead to the legalization of euthanasia" and 46% agreed that "Health insurance companies would cover PAS/AID over more expensive, possibly life-saving treatments, like chemotherapy".<ref name="Hetzler">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hetzler III PT, Nie J, Zhou A, Dugdale LS | title = A Report of Physicians' Beliefs about Physician-Assisted Suicide: A National Study | journal = The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine | volume = 92 | issue = 4 | pages = 575–585 | date = December 2019 | pmid = 31866773 | pmc = 6913834 | doi = }}</ref> The survey also found that physicians generally misunderstand why patients seek PAS. 49% of physicians agreed that "Most patients who seek PAS/AID do so because of physical pain", whereas studies in Oregon found that "the three most frequently mentioned end-of-life concerns were loss of autonomy (89.5%), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (89.5%), and loss of dignity (65.4%)."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Documents/year19.pdf | title = Oregon Death with Dignity Act Data summary | date = 2016 | website = oregon.gov/oha | publisher = Oregon Health Authority | access-date = 12 February 2023 | archive-date = 14 February 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230214225357/https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/providerpartnerresources/evaluationresearch/deathwithdignityact/documents/year19.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> In addition, the survey found uncertainty about the adequacy of safeguards. While 59% agreed that "Current PAS laws provide adequate safeguards", there was greater concern with respect to specific safeguards. 60% disagreed that "Physicians who are not psychiatrists are sufficiently trained to screen for depression in patients who are seeking PAS" and 60% disagreed that "Most physicians can predict with certainty whether a patient seeking PAS/AID has 6 months or less to live".<ref name="Hetzler"/> The concern about adequate safeguards is even greater among Oregon emergency physicians, among whom one study found that “Only 37% indicated that the Oregon initiative has enough safeguards to protect vulnerable persons."<ref name="pmid8891040">{{cite journal | vauthors = Schmidt TA, Zechnich AD, Tilden VP, Lee MA, Ganzini L, Nelson HD, Tolle SW | title = Oregon emergency physicians' experiences with, attitudes toward, and concerns about physician-assisted suicide | journal = Academic Emergency Medicine | volume = 3 | issue = 10 | pages = 938–945 | date = October 1996 | pmid = 8891040 | pmc = | doi = 10.1111/j.1553-2712.1996.tb03323.x | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Attitudes toward PAS vary by health profession as well; an extensive survey of 37333,733 medical physicians was sponsored by the National Council for Palliative Care, Age Concern, Help the Hospices, Macmillan Cancer Support, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the MS Society and Sue Ryder Care showed that opposition to voluntary euthanasia and PAS was highest among Palliative Care and Care of the Elderly specialists, with more than 90% of palliative care specialists against a change in the law.<ref name=seale>{{cite journal | vauthors = Seale C | title = Legalisation of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide: survey of doctors' attitudes | journal = Palliative Medicine | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 205–212 | date = April 2009 | pmid = 19318460 | doi = 10.1177/0269216308102041 | s2cid = 43547476 }}</ref>

A 1997 study by Glasgow University's Institute of Law & Ethics in Medicine found pharmacists (72%) and anaesthetists (56%) to be generally in favor of legalizing PAS. Pharmacists were twice as likely as medical GPs to endorse the view that "if a patient has decided to end their own life then doctors should be allowed in law to assist".<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = McLean S |title=Sometimes a Small Victory|date=1997|publisher=Institute of Law and Ethics in Medicine, University of Glasgow.}}</ref> A report published in January 2017 by NPR suggests that the thoroughness of protections that allow physicians to refrain from participating in the municipalities that legalized assisted suicide within the United States presently creates a lack of access by those who would otherwise be eligible for the practice.<ref>{{cite news|title=Legalizing Aid in Dying Doesn't Mean Patients Have Access To It|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/25/511456109/legalizing-aid-in-dying-doesnt-mean-patients-have-access-to-it|newspaper=NPR|date=25 January 2017|access-date=18 November 2017| vauthors = Aleccia J|archive-date=22 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222214623/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/25/511456109/legalizing-aid-in-dying-doesnt-mean-patients-have-access-to-it|url-status=live}}</ref>

A poll in the United Kingdom showed that 54% of General Practitioners are either supportive or neutral towards the introduction of assisted dying laws.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Opinion – Dignity in Dying |url=https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/assisted-dying/public-opinion/ |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514142940/https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/assisted-dying/public-opinion/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A similar poll on [[Doctors.net.uk]] published in the [[British Medical Journal|BMJ]] said that 55% of doctors would support it.<ref>{{cite news |title=Assisted dying case 'stronger than ever' with majority of doctors now in support |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/health/assisted-dying-debate-bmj-doctors-majority-support/ |access-date=4 August 2018 |date=7 February 2018 |archive-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515040235/https://inews.co.uk/news/health/assisted-dying-debate-bmj-doctors-majority-support/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In contrast the BMA, which represents doctors in the UK, opposes it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Physician-assisted dying – BMA |url=https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/ethics/ethics-a-to-z/physician-assisted-dying |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-date=14 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514040428/https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/ethics/ethics-a-to-z/physician-assisted-dying |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Legend|#0000ffff|Physician-assisted suicide is legal.{{refn|group=note|name=PortugalNote}}}}

{{Legend|#C0C0C0|Physician-assisted suicide is illegal.}}

Physician-assisted suicide is legal in some countries, under certain circumstances, including [[Austria]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vfgh.gv.at/downloads/VfGH-Erkenntnis_G_139_2019_vom_11.12.2020.pdf |title=G 139/2019-71. 11. Dezember 2020 |publisher=[[Constitutional Court (Austria)|Verfassungsgerichtshof]] |language=de |date=11 December 2020 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=29 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229195403/https://www.vfgh.gv.at/downloads/VfGH-Erkenntnis_G_139_2019_vom_11.12.2020.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/I/I_01177/index.shtml |title=Sterbeverfügungsgesetz; Suchtmittelgesetz, Strafgesetzbuch, Änderung |website=parlament.gv.at |language=de |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217105637/https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXVII/I/I_01177/index.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Belgium]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/mopdf/2002/06/22_1.pdf#Page16 |title=28 MEI 2002. — Wet betreffende de euthanasie / 28 MAI 2002. — Loi relative a' l'euthanasie |publisher=Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur Belge |language=nl, fr |page=16 |date=22 June 2002 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119023616/http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/mopdf/2002/06/22_1.pdf#Page16 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Assisted suicide in Canada|Canada]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=8177165 |title=Bill C-14. An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying |website=parl.ca |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=23 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523221238/https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=8177165 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Luxembourg]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.legilux.public.lu/file/eli-etat-leg-memorial-2009-46-fr-pdf.pdf |title=Legislation reglementant les soins palliatifs ainsi que l'euthanasie et l'assistance au suicide |publisher=Journal Officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg |language=fr |date=16 March 2009 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924200410/http://data.legilux.public.lu/file/eli-etat-leg-memorial-2009-46-fr-pdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Netherlands]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0012410/2020-03-19 |title=Wet toetsing levensbeëindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding |website=overheid.nl |language=nl |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217202942/https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0012410/2020-03-19 |url-status=live }}</ref> New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/end-life-choice-act |title=End of Life Choice Act |website=health.govt.nz |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=27 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627165246/https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/end-life-choice-act |url-status=live }}</ref> Portugal,<ref name="diariodarepublica.pt">[https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/22-2023-213498831 Law n.º 22/2023, of 22 May, published on the 1st Series of Diário da República, n.º 101, of 25 May 2023, in Portuguese, retrieved 25 May 2023.]</ref>{{refn|group=note|name=PortugalNote|'''Portugal''': Law not yet in force, awaits regulation to be implemented. The law legalizing physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, Law n.º 22/2023, of 22 May,<ref name="diariodarepublica.pt"/> states in Article 31 that the regulation must be approved within 90 days of the publishing of the law, which would have been 23 August 2023. However, the regulation has not yet been approved by the government. On 24 November 2023, the Ministry of Health stated that the regulation of the law would be the responsibility of the new government elected in the 10 March 2024 elections.<ref name="Observador">{{cite news |last1=Caeiro |first1=Tiago |title=Eutanásia não avança para já. Ministério da Saúde deixa regulamentação para o próximo governo |url=https://observador.pt/2023/11/24/eutanasia-nao-avanca-para-ja-ministerio-da-saude-deixa-regulamentacao-para-o-proximo-governo/ |trans-title=Euthanasia is not moving forward for now. Ministry of Health leaves regulation to the next government |access-date=14 January 2024 |work=Observador |date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202164552/https://observador.pt/2023/11/24/eutanasia-nao-avanca-para-ja-ministerio-da-saude-deixa-regulamentacao-para-o-proximo-governo/ |archive-date=2 December 2023 |language=Portuguese}}</ref> The law, according to its Article 34, will only enter into force 30 days after the regulation is published.}} Spain,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2021-4628 |title=Ley Orgánica 3/2021, de 24 de marzo, de regulación de la eutanasia |website=boe.es |language=es |date=25 March 2021 |pages=34037–34049 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=5 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705024012/https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2021-4628 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Switzerland]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/54/757_781_799/en |title=Swiss Criminal Code |website=fedlex.admin.ch |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=9 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409224255/https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/54/757_781_799/en |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Assisted suicide in the United States|parts of the United States]] (California,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/End-of-Life-Option-Act-.aspx |title=End of Life Option Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=26 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226154032/https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/End-of-Life-Option-Act-.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Colorado]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cdphe.colorado.gov/center-for-health-and-environmental-data/registries-and-vital-statistics/medical-aid-in-dying |title= Colorado End-of-Life Options Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=24 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224024805/https://cdphe.colorado.gov/center-for-health-and-environmental-data/registries-and-vital-statistics/medical-aid-in-dying |url-status=live }}</ref> Hawaii,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2018/11/OCOC-Act2.pdf |title=Our Care, Our Choice Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217202854/https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2018/11/OCOC-Act2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Maine]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/HP094801.asp |title=Death with Dignity Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217202902/https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_129th/billtexts/HP094801.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Montana]],{{NoteTag|See ''[[Baxter v. Montana]]''.}}<ref name="2009 MT 449">Baxter v. State, [https://appecm.mt.gov/PerceptiveJUDSupremeCourt/APP/connector/2/468/url/321Z18W_01YZNVY7P00473J.pdf 2009 MT 449]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 224 P.3d 1211, 354 Mont. 234 (2009).</ref> [[New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nj.gov/health/advancedirective/maid/ |title=Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101051948/https://nj.gov/health/advancedirective/maid/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[New Mexico]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/21%20Regular/bills/house/HB0047.pdf |title=Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=1 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401032211/https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/21%20Regular/bills/house/HB0047.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Oregon]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/ProviderPartnerResources/Evaluationresearch/deathwithdignityact/Pages/index.aspx |title=Death with Dignity Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=1 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101191717/https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/providerpartnerresources/evaluationresearch/deathwithdignityact/pages/index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Vermont]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.healthvermont.gov/systems/end-of-life-decisions/patient-choice-and-control-end-life |title=Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act|date=23 November 2016|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-date=5 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105105703/https://www.healthvermont.gov/systems/end-of-life-decisions/patient-choice-and-control-end-life|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Washington (state)|Washington]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/IllnessandDisease/DeathwithDignityAct |title=Death with Dignity Act |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902202500/https://www.doh.wa.gov/youandyourfamily/illnessanddisease/deathwithdignityact |url-status=live }}</ref> and Washington DC<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/death-dignity-act-2016 |title=District of Columbia Death with Dignity Act of 2016, D.C. Law 21-182 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217202915/https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/death-dignity-act-2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>) and Australia ([[New South Wales]],<ref name="nsw">{{cite web |url =https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3891 |title =Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 |access-date =19 May 2022 |archive-date =27 October 2022 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20221027045446/https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3891 |url-status =live }}</ref> [[Queensland]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2021/5721T707.pdf |title=Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101014412/https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2021/5721T707.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[South Australia]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/B/CURRENT/VOLUNTARY%20ASSISTED%20DYING%20BILL%202020_HON%20KYAM%20MAHER%20MLC.aspx |title=Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2020 |date=22 November 2021 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122043623/https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/B/CURRENT/VOLUNTARY%20ASSISTED%20DYING%20BILL%202020_HON%20KYAM%20MAHER%20MLC.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tasmania]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/Bills/current/30_of_2020.html |title=End Of Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill 2020 (30 of 2020) |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=23 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523215109/https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/Bills/current/30_of_2020.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/voluntary-assisted-dying-act-2017/004 |title=Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=21 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121050831/http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/voluntary-assisted-dying-act-2017/004 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Western Australia]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/voluntaryassisteddying |title=Voluntary assisted dying |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108032955/https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/voluntaryassisteddying |url-status=live }}</ref>). The Constitutional Courts of [[Colombia]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/1997/c-239-97.htm |title=Sentencia C-239/97 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121183452/http://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/1997/C-239-97.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2014/t-970-14.htm |title=Sentencia T-970/14 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=6 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106203847/https://corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2014/t-970-14.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/comunicados/Comunicado%2015%20-%20Mayo%2011%20de%202022.pdf |title=Sentencia C-164-2022 |access-date=17 May 2022 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516191403/https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/comunicados/Comunicado%2015%20-%20Mayo%2011%20de%202022.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Germany<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Entscheidungen/DE/2020/02/rs20200226_2bvr234715.html |title=Zum Urteil des Zweiten Senats vom 26. Februar 2020 |date=26 February 2020 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=22 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522132729/https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Entscheidungen/DE/2020/02/rs20200226_2bvr234715.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Italy<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quotidianosanita.it/allegati/allegato8990968.pdf |title=Sentenza n. 242/2019 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129231122/http://www.quotidianosanita.it/allegati/allegato8990968.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> legalized assisted suicide, but their governments have not legislated or regulated the practice yet.

Laws regarding assisted suicide in Australia are a matter for [[States and territories of Australia|state and territory governments]]. Physician assisted suicide is currently legal in all Australian states: New South Wales,<ref name="nsw"/> Victoria,<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.sbs.com.au/news/voluntary-euthanasia-is-now-legal-in-victoria |title = Voluntary euthanasia is now legal in Victoria |access-date = 19 June 2019 |archive-date = 7 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210707165640/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/voluntary-euthanasia-is-now-legal-in-victoria |url-status = live }}</ref> South Australia, Western Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/voluntary-euthanasia-becomes-law-in-wa-in-emotional-scenes/11784828|title=Voluntary euthanasia becomes law in WA in emotional scenes at Parliament|date=10 December 2019|access-date=7 November 2020|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210183709/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/voluntary-euthanasia-becomes-law-in-wa-in-emotional-scenes/11784828|url-status=live}}</ref> Tasmania<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-23/tasmania-passes-assisted-dying-legislation/100024852|title=Tasmania passes voluntary assisted dying legislation, becoming third state to do so|date=23 March 2021|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=23 May 2021|archive-date=27 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327210819/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-23/tasmania-passes-assisted-dying-legislation/100024852|url-status=live}}</ref> and Queensland.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/16/queensland-mps-vote-to-legalise-voluntary-assisted-dying|title=Queensland MPs vote to legalise voluntary assisted dying|date=16 September 2021|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 September 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233420/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/16/queensland-mps-vote-to-legalise-voluntary-assisted-dying|url-status=live}}</ref> It remains illegal in all Australian territories, however the Australian Capital Territory plans to legalise this by 2024, <ref>{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Craig |date=20 May 2023-05-20 |title=The ACT's proposed voluntary assisted dying laws have yet to be introduced, but could be the most liberal in the country |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-21/calls-for-voluntary-assisted-dying-laws-soon-in-the-act/102359322 |access-date=20 August 2023 |archive-08-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820012932/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-21/calls-for-voluntary-assisted-dying-laws-soon-in-the-act/102359322 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Northern Territory is holding an investigation due to report in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Northern Territory Government |date=2023 |title=Project Management Office |url=https://cmc.nt.gov.au/project-management-office |access-date=2023-08-20 August 2023 |website=Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet |language=en |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820012933/https://cmc.nt.gov.au/project-management-office |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under Victorian law, patients can ask medical practitioners about assisted suicide, and doctors, including conscientious objectors, should refer to appropriately trained colleagues who do not conscientiously object.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/hospitals-and-health-services/patient-care/end-of-life-care/voluntary-assisted-dying/health-practitioner-information |title = Health practitioner information on voluntary assisted dying |access-date = 19 June 2019 |archive-date = 15 May 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210515150321/https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/hospitals-and-health-services/patient-care/end-of-life-care/voluntary-assisted-dying/health-practitioner-information |url-status = live }}</ref> Health practitioners are restricted from initiating conversation or suggesting VAD to a patient unprompted.

Physician assisted suicide was legal in the [[Northern Territory]] for a short time under the [[Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995]], until this law was overturned by the Federal Parliament which also removed the ability for territories to pass legislation relating to assisted dying, however this prohibition was repealed in December 2022 with the passing of [[Restoring Territory Rights Act 2022]]. The highly controversial 'Euthanasia Machine', the first invented voluntary assisted dying machine of its kind, created by [[Philip Nitschke]], utilised during this period is presently held at London's [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search?q=%22euthanasia%20machine%22 |title = Euthanasia machine, Australia, 1995–1996 |access-date = 5 May 2020 |archive-date = 6 December 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211206030339/https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/search?q=%22euthanasia%20machine%22 |url-status = live }}</ref>

{{Legend|#0000ffff|Physician-assisted suicide is legal.{{refn|group=note|name=PortugalNote}}}}

{{Legend|#ddddddff|Assisted suicide is not legal.}}

In December 2020, the [[Austrian Constitutional Court]] ruled that the prohibition of assisted suicide was unconstitutional.<ref name=BradeFriedrich/> In December 2021, the [[Austrian Parliament]] legalized assisted suicide for those who are terminally ill or have a permanent, debilitating condition.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Austria's parliament legalizes assisted suicide|url=https://www.dw.com/en/austrias-parliament-legalizes-assisted-suicide/a-60154513|journal=DW|date=16 December 2021|access-date=17 December 2021|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102192315/https://www.dw.com/en/austrias-parliament-legalizes-assisted-suicide/a-60154513|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1 January 2022|title=New law allowing assisted suicide takes effect in Austria|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59847371|access-date=2 January 2022|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102085136/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59847371|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Canada, physician-assisted suicide was first legalized in the Province of Quebec on 5 June 2014.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 December 2015 |title=Is it euthanasia or assisted suicide? Quebec's end-of-life care law explained |newspaper=National Post |location=Toronto, Ontario |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/is-it-euthanasia-or-assisted-suicide-quebecs-end-of-life-care-law-explained |access-date=5 January 2016 |vauthors=Hamilton G |archive-date=12 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612041220/https://nationalpost.com/category/news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was declared nationally legal by the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] on 6 February 2015, in ''[[Carter v Canada (AG)|Carter v. Canada (Attorney General)]]''.<ref>[https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do ''Carter v. Canada (Attorney General)''<nowiki>, 2015 S.C.C. 5, [2015] 1 S.C.R. 331</nowiki>]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118090445/https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do |date=18 January 2016 }}</ref>

National legislation formalizing physician-assisted suicide passed in mid-June 2016, for patients facing an estimated death within six months.<ref>[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/2016_3.pdf Bill C-14, ''An Act to amend the Criminal Code & to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying)'', 1st Sess., 42nd Parl., 2015–2016 (assented to 2016‑06‑17), S.C. 2016, c. 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105001837/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/2016_3.pdf |date=5 November 2021 }}.</ref> Eligibility criteria have been progressively expanded over time. As of March 2021, individuals no longer need to be terminally ill in order to qualify for assisted suicide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Department of Justice |date=2021-03-18 March 2021 |title=New medical assistance in dying legislation becomes law |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2021/03/new-medical-assistance-in-dying-legislation-becomes-law.html |access-date=19 March 2023 |website=www.canada.ca |archive-03-date=19 March 2023 |websitearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319205732/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2021/03/new-medical-assistance-in-dying-legislation-becomes-law.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Legislation allowing for assisted suicide for mental illness was expected to come into force on March 17 March 2023, but has since been postponed until 20242027.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Health |date=2016-06-16 June 2016 |title=Medical assistance in dying |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.html |access-date=2023-03-19 March 2023 |website=www.canada.ca |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529064640/https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between 10 December 2015 and 30 June 2017, 2,149 medically assisted deaths were documented in Canada. Research published by Health Canada illustrates physician preference for physician-administered voluntary euthanasia, citing concerns about effective administration and prevention of the potential complications of self-administration by patients.<ref>{{citation |url = http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/sc‑hcsc%E2%80%91hc/H14‑230‑3‑2018‑engH14%E2%80%91230%E2%80%913%E2%80%912018%E2%80%91eng.pdf |title = Second Interim Report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada |author=Health Canada |author-link=Health Canada |date=October 2017 |publisher=Health Canada |location=Ottawa |isbn=9780660204673978-0-660-20467-3 |id = H14‑230/2‑2017E‑PDF |postscript=. |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126190234/http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/sc%E2%80%91hc/H14%E2%80%91230%E2%80%913%E2%80%912018%E2%80%91eng.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In China, assisted suicide is illegal under Articles 232 and 233 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000136|title=Euthanasia & Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) around the World - Euthanasia - ProCon.org|website=euthanasia.procon.org|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330093516/https://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000136|url-status=dead}}</ref> In China, suicide or neglect is considered homicide and can be punished by three to seven years in prison.<ref name="glm">{{cite web | vauthors = Zeldin W |title=China: Case of Assisted Suicide Stirs Euthanasia Debate |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/china-case-of-assisted-suicide-stirs-euthanasia-debate/ |website=The Library of Congress |date=17 August 2011 |access-date=29 December 2017 |archive-date=29 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129165852/http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/china-case-of-assisted-suicide-stirs-euthanasia-debate/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 1997 the Colombian Constitutional Court allowed for the voluntary euthanasia of sick patients who requested to end their lives, by passing Article 326 of the 1980 Penal Code.<ref name="McDougall 2008">{{harvnb|McDougall|Gorman|2008}}</ref> This ruling owes its success to the efforts of a group that strongly opposed voluntary euthanasia. When one of its members brought a lawsuit to the Colombian Supreme Court against it, the court issued a 6 to 3 decision that "spelled out the rights of a terminally ill person to engage in voluntary euthanasia".<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Whiting R | title = A Natural Right to Die: Twenty-Three Centuries of Debate | year = 2002 | location = Westport, Connecticut | pages = [https://archive.org/details/naturalrighttodi00whit/page/n51 41] | isbn = 9780313314742978-0-313-31474-2 | url =https://archive.org/details/naturalrighttodi00whit| url-access = limited }}</ref>

In January 2022 Victor Escobar became the first person in the Andean country with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia. The 60-year-old Escobar had end-stage [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]].<ref name="Escobar">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/americas/colombia-euthanasia-intl/index.html |title=Man becomes first person in Colombia with non-terminal illness to die by legal euthanasia |date=9 January 2022 |publisher=CNN.com |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110092121/https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/americas/colombia-euthanasia-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Assisted suicide is illegal in Denmark. Passive euthanasia, or the refusal to accept treatment, is not illegal. A survey from 2014 found that 71% of Denmark's population was in favor of legalizing voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Nielsen ME, Andersen MM | title = Bioethics in Denmark. Moving from first- to second-order analysis? | journal = Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 326–333 | date = July 2014 | pmid = 24867435 | doi = 10.1017/S0963180113000935 | s2cid = 6706267 | url = https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/137621427/bioethicsindenmarkprepub.pdf | access-date = 5 December 2019 | archive-date = 9 December 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211209072249/https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/137621427/bioethicsindenmarkprepub.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

| access-date = 9 July 2013}}</ref>

Between 1998 and 2018 around 1250 German citizens (almost three times the number of any other nationality) travelled to Dignitas in Zurich, Switzerland, for an assisted suicide, where this has been legal since 1998.<ref name=Statistiken>{{Cite web | url=http://www.dignitas.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=72&lang=de | title=Statistiken | access-date=23 April 2020 | archive-date=5 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233500/http://www.dignitas.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=72&lang=de | url-status=live Statistiken}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=April 2020}}<ref name=pmid12560284>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hurst SA, Mauron A | title = Assisted suicide and euthanasia in Switzerland: allowing a role for non-physicians | journal = BMJ | volume = 326 | issue = 7383 | pages = 271–273 | date = February 2003 | pmid = 12560284 | pmc = 1125125 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.326.7383.271 }}</ref> Switzerland is one of the few countries that permit assisted suicide for non-resident foreigners.<ref name="assistedsuicide.org">{{Cite web | url=http://www.assistedsuicide.org/suicide_laws.html | title=Assisted Suicide Laws Around the World – Assisted Suicide | access-date=22 July 2015 | archive-date=11 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811170601/http://assistedsuicide.org/suicide_laws.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Physician-assisted suicide was formally legalised on 26 February 2020 when Germany's top court removed the prohibition of "professionally assisted suicide".<ref>{{cite news |title=Germany overturns ban on professionally assisted suicide |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51643306 |access-date=26 February 2020 |archive-date=12 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712200318/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51643306 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Assisted suicide is illegal. "Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under Irish law. Depending on the circumstances, euthanasia is regarded as either manslaughter or murder and is punishable by up to life imprisonment."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hse.ie/eng/health|title=Ireland's Health Services – Ireland's Health Service|work=Ireland's Health Service|access-date=15 November 2017|language=en|archive-date=15 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215025634/http://www.hse.ie/eng/health/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 25 September 2019, the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Italian Constitutional Court]] ruling 242/2019 declared that article 580 of the criminal code was unconstitutional; the decriminalisation of assisted suicide in the case of those who aid people who suffer from an irreversible pathology to die, effectively legalised assisted suicide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2019 |title=Suicidio assistito, la svolta della Consulta: è lecito l'aiuto in casi come quello di dj Fabo – Politica |url=http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2019/09/25/fine-vita-oggi-la-decisione-della-consulta-_a6b95173-5579-46ff-af10-02b202047f78.html |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616164713/https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2019/09/25/fine-vita-oggi-la-decisione-della-consulta-_a6b95173-5579-46ff-af10-02b202047f78.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Italian Parliament]] has not yet passed a law regulating assisted suicide. On 16 June 2022, the first assisted suicide was performed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2022 |title=E' morto Mario, primo caso di suicidio assistito in Italia – Marche |url=https://www.ansa.it/marche/notizie/2022/06/16/e-morto-mario-primo-caso-di-suicidio-assistito-in-italia_89cfadab-6410-4496-b02e-db1a1d67ac65.html |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616103708/https://www.ansa.it/marche/notizie/2022/06/16/e-morto-mario-primo-caso-di-suicidio-assistito-in-italia_89cfadab-6410-4496-b02e-db1a1d67ac65.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | vauthors = Povoledo E |date=16 June 2022 |title=Man Paralyzed 12 Years Ago Becomes Italy's First Assisted Suicide |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/world/europe/italy-assisted-suicide.html |access-date=17 June 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713202441/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/world/europe/italy-assisted-suicide.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 25 November 2021, the [[States Assembly]] voted to legalise assisted dying and a law legalising it will be drafted in due course.<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1463813177402134529|user=GaryBurgessCI|title=BREAKING: Jersey's parliament votes in favour of legalising assisted dying, by 36 votes to 10.A law will be draft…|date=25 November 2021}}</ref> The Channel Island is the first country in the [[British Islands]] to approve the measure.<ref name="inews.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/jersey-assisted-dying-state-assembly-uk-parliament-approve-law-change-1318667|title=Jersey approves assisted dying, and becomes first British Parliament to change law|date=25 November 2021|access-date=25 November 2021|archive-date=26 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126064153/https://inews.co.uk/news/jersey-assisted-dying-state-assembly-uk-parliament-approve-law-change-1318667|url-status=live}}</ref> The proposition, which was lodged by the Council of Ministers, proposes that a legal assisted dying service should be set up for residents over the age of 18 with a terminal illness or other incurable suffering<!-- ! rewrite for tone -->. The service will be voluntary and methods are either physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.<ref>States Assembly: P.95/2021, https://statesassembly.gov.je/Pages/Propositions.aspx?ref=P.95/2021&refurl=%2fPages%2fPropositions.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125102746/https://statesassembly.gov.je/Pages/Propositions.aspx?ref=P.95%2F2021&refurl=%2FPages%2FPropositions.aspx |date=25 November 2021 }}</ref>

After again failing to get royal assent for legalizing voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, in December 2008 Luxembourg's parliament amended the country's constitution to take this power away from the monarch, the [[Grand Duke of Luxembourg]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/12/luxembourg-monarchy |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Luxembourg strips monarch of legislative role |date=12 December 2008 |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117172342/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/12/luxembourg-monarchy |url-status=live }}</ref> Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were legalized in the country in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=191410|title=Luxembourg becomes third EU country to legalize euthanasia|work=Tehran Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613232728/http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=191410|archive-date= 13 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to formally legalise voluntary euthanasia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.who.int/bulletin/archives/79%286%29580.pdf|title=Netherlands, first country to legalize euthanasia.|date=2001|work=The World Health Organization|access-date=4 October 2020|archive-date=12 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012062510/https://www.who.int/bulletin/archives/79(6)580.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Physician-assisted suicide is legal under the same conditions as voluntary euthanasia. Physician-assisted suicide became allowed under the Act of 2001 which states the specific procedures and requirements needed in order to provide such assistance. Assisted suicide in the Netherlands follows a medical model which means that only doctors of patients who are suffering "unbearably without hope"<ref>{{cite web |title=Euthanasia is legalised in Netherlands |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/euthanasia-is-legalised-in-netherlands-5364802.html |website=The Independent |date=11 April 2001 |access-date=2 November 2018 |archive-date=12 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312183311/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/euthanasia-is-legalised-in-netherlands-5364802.html |url-status=live }}</ref> are allowed to grant a request for an assisted suicide. The Netherlands allows people over the age of 12 to pursue an assisted suicide when deemed necessary.

On 30 April 2015, the High Court in [[Pretoria]] granted Advocate Robin Stransham-Ford an order that would allow a doctor to assist him in taking his own life without the threat of prosecution. On 6 December 2016, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the High Court ruling.<ref name="News24">{{cite web |url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/sca-overturns-right-to-die-ruling-20161206 |title= SCA overturns right-to-die ruling |publisher=News24 |date=6 December 2015 |access-date=6 December 2015 |archive-date=16 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216015836/https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/sca-overturns-right-to-die-ruling-20161206 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A person brought to court on a charge could presumably avoid conviction by proving that they were "motivated by the good intentions of bringing about a requested death for the purposes of relieving "[[suffering]]" rather than for "selfish" reasons.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Whiting R | title = A Natural Right to Die: Twenty-Three Centuries of Debate | year = 2002 | location = Westport, Connecticut | pages = [https://archive.org/details/naturalrighttodi00whit/page/n56 46] | isbn = 9780313314742978-0-313-31474-2 | url =https://archive.org/details/naturalrighttodi00whit| url-access = limited }}</ref> In order to avoid conviction, the person has to prove that the deceased knew what he or she was doing, had the capacity to make the decision, and had made an "earnest" request, meaning they asked for death several times. The person helping also has to avoid actually doing the act that leads to death, lest they be convicted under Article 114: Killing on request (Tötung auf Verlangen) –

Switzerland is one ofthe only a handful of countriescountry in the world which permits assisted suicide for non-resident foreigners,<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Bondolfi S |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/why-assisted-suicide-is--normal--in-switzerland-/45924614|title=Why assisted suicide is 'normal' in Switzerland|website=swissinfo.ch|date=24 July 2020|access-date=16 October 2022|archive-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925060153/https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/why-assisted-suicide-is--normal--in-switzerland-/45924614|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="assistedsuicide.org"/> causing what some critics have described as [[suicide tourism]]. Between 1998 and 2018 around 1250 German citizens (almost three times the number of any other nationality) travelled to Dignitas in Zurich, Switzerland, for an assisted suicide. During the same period over 400 British citizens also opted to end their life at the same clinic.<ref name=Statistiken/><ref name=pmid12560284/>

In May 2011, Zurich held a referendum that asked voters whether (i) assisted suicide should be prohibited outright; and (ii) whether Dignitas and other assisted suicide providers should not admit overseas users. Zurich voters heavily rejected both bans, despite anti-euthanasia lobbying from two Swiss [[social conservative]] political parties, the [[Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland]] and [[Federal Democratic Union]]. The outright ban proposal was rejected by 84% of voters, while 78% voted to keep services open should overseas users require them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Swiss vote backs assisted suicide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13405376 |work=BBC News |date=15 May 2011 |access-date=23 April 2020 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233648/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13405376 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Switzerland non-physician-assisted suicide is legal, the assistance mostly being provided by volunteers, whereas in Belgium and the Netherlands, a physician must be present. In Switzerland, the doctors are primarily there to assess the patient's decision capacity and prescribe the lethal drugs. Additionally, unlike cases in the United States, a person is not required to have a terminal illness but only the capacity to make decisions. About 25% of people in Switzerland who take advantage of assisted suicide do not have a terminal illness but are simply old or "tired of life".<ref name="Andorno 246–253">{{cite journal | vauthors = Andorno R | title = Nonphysician-assisted suicide in Switzerland | journal = Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics | volume = 22 | issue = 3 | pages = 246–253 | date = July 2013 | pmid = 23632255 | doi = 10.1017/S0963180113000054 | url = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/92579/1/Andorno_Cambridge_Quarterly_3_2013.pdf | access-date = 23 April 2020 | archive-date = 9 December 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211209050339/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/92579/1/Andorno_Cambridge_Quarterly_3_2013.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

In July 2009, British conductor Sir [[Edward Downes]] and his wife Joan died together at a suicide clinic outside Zürich "under circumstances of their own choosing". Sir Edward was not terminally ill, but his wife was diagnosed with rapidly developing cancer.<ref name="CB1">{{cite web |url=http://criminalbrief.com/?p=7887 |title=YOUthanasia | vauthors = Lundin L |date=2 August 2009 |publisher=Criminal Brief |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=26 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726065607/http://criminalbrief.com/?p=7887 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2010, the American PBS TV program ''[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|Frontline]]'' showed a documentary called ''The Suicide Tourist'' which told the story of Professor Craig Ewert, his family, and [[Dignitas (euthanasia group)|Dignitas]], and his decision to die by assisted suicide using [[Pentobarbital|sodium pentobarbital]] in Switzerland after he was diagnosed and suffering with [[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]] (Lou Gehrig's disease).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicidetourist/|title=The Suicide Tourist – FRONTLINE – PBS|work=pbs.org|access-date=24 August 2017|archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423210547/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicidetourist/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2011, the BBC televised the assisted suicide of Peter Smedley, a canning factory owner, who was suffering from motor neurone disease. The programme – ''Sir [[Terry Pratchett's: Choosing Toto Die]]'' – told the story of Smedley's journey to the end where he used The Dignitas Clinic, a voluntary euthanasia clinic in Switzerland, to assist him in carrying out his suicide. The programme shows Smedley eating chocolates to counter the unpalatable taste of the liquid he drinks to end his life. Moments after drinking the liquid, Smedley begged for water, gasped for breath and became red, he then fell into a deep sleep where he snored heavily while holding his wife's hand. Minutes later, Smedley stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.

Deliberately assisting a suicide is illegal.<ref>[[Richard Huxtable|Huxtable, Richard]]{{cite book | vauthors = Huxtable R |author-link= Richard Huxtable |year=2007 |publisher=Routledge Cavendish |location=Abingdon, UK; New York |isbn=9781844721061978-1-84472-106-1 |title=Euthanasia, Ethics and the Law: From Conflict to Compromise }}</ref> Between 2003 and 2006, [[Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe|Lord Joffe]] made four attempts to introduce bills that would have legalised physician-assisted suicide in England and Wales. All were rejected by the UK Parliament.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/asstdyingbill_1.shtml |title=Assisted Dying Bill – latest |newspaper=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202112624/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/asstdyingbill_1.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> In the meantime, the Director of Public Prosecutions has clarified the criteria under which an individual will be prosecuted in England and Wales for assisting in another person's suicide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/144_09|title=DPP publishes interim policy on prosecuting assisted suicide: The Crown Prosecution Service|work=cps.gov.uk|date=23 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927195736/http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/press_releases/144_09|archive-date=27 September 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> These have not been tested by an appellate court as yet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/a-critical-consideration-of-the-director-of-public-prosecutions-guidelines-in-relation-to-assisted-suicide-prosecutions-and-their-application-to-the-law/|title=A Critical Consideration of the Director of Public Prosecutions Guidelines in Relation to Assisted Suicide Prosecutions and their Application to the Law|work=halsburyslawexchange.co.uk|access-date=4 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306015157/http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/a-critical-consideration-of-the-director-of-public-prosecutions-guidelines-in-relation-to-assisted-suicide-prosecutions-and-their-application-to-the-law/|archive-date=6 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Lord Falconer]] of Thoroton tabled an Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords which passed its Second Reading but ran out of time before the General Election. During its passage peers voted down two amendments which were proposed by opponents of the Bill. In 2015, Labour MP [[Rob Marris]] introduced another Bill, based on the Falconer proposals, in the House of Commons. The Second Reading was the first time the House was able to vote on the issue since 1997. A Populus poll had found that 82% of the British public agreed with the proposals of Lord Falconer's Assisted Dying Bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Dignity-in-Dying-Poll-March-2015-WEBSITE-DATATABLES.pdf|title=Dignity in Dying Poll|date=2015|work=Populus|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617124821/http://www.populus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Dignity-in-Dying-Poll-March-2015-WEBSITE-DATATABLES.pdf|archive-date= 17 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in a free vote on 11 September 2015, only 118 MPs were in favour and 330 against, thus defeating the bill.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34208624|title=Assisted Dying Bill: MPs reject 'right to die' law | vauthors = Gallagher J, Roxby P |date=11 September 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004172546/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34208624|url-status=live}}</ref>

Independent MSP Margo MacDonald's "End of Life Assistance Bill" was brought before the Scottish Parliament to permit physician-assisted suicide in January 2010. The [[Catholic]] Church and the [[Church of Scotland]], the largest denomination in Scotland, opposed the bill. The bill was rejected by a vote of 85–16 (with 2 abstentions) in December 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/38-EndLifeAssist/index.htm |title=End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill (SP Bill 38) |date=21 January 2010 |publisher=The Scottish Parliament |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810060725/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/38-EndLifeAssist/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11876821 |title=Margo MacDonald's End of Life Assistance Bill rejected |newspaper=[[BBC News Online]] |date=1 December 2010 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233700/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11876821 |url-status=live }}</ref>

It was legalized by [[Washington (state)]] in 2008,<ref>[[Washington Death with Dignity Act]]</ref> Vermont in 2013,<ref>Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act of 2013</ref> California<ref>California End of Life Option Act of 2015, enacted June 2016</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/10/469970753/californias-law-on-medically-assisted-suicide-to-take-effect-june-9/|title=California To Permit Medically Assisted Suicide As of 9 June|date=10 March 2016|work=NPR| vauthors = Aliferis L|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=7 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207123751/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/10/469970753/californias-law-on-medically-assisted-suicide-to-take-effect-june-9/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref>District of Columbia Death with Dignity Act of 2016</ref> and Colorado<ref>End of Life Options Act of 2016</ref> in 2016, Hawaii in 2018,<ref>Death with Dignity Act of 2018</ref> New Jersey in 2019,<ref>New Jersey Dignity in Dying Bill of Rights Act of 2019</ref> Maine in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deathwithdignity.org/states/maine/|title=Maine|website=Death With Dignity|language=en-US|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205233450/https://deathwithdignity.org/states/maine/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>effective 1 January 2020 – Maine Death with Dignity Act of 2019</ref> and New Mexico in 2021<ref>Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act, 2021</ref> It had also been briefly legal in New Mexico in 2014 and 2015 due to a court decision that was overturned.

The punishment for participating in physician-assisted death varies throughout the other states. The state of Wyoming does not "recognize common law crimes and does not have a statute specifically prohibiting physician-assisted suicide". In Florida, "every person deliberately assisting another in the commission of self-murder shall be guilty of manslaughter, a felony of the second degree".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/assisted-suicide-state-laws/|title=Assisted Suicide Laws in the United States {{!}} Patients Rights Council|website=www.patientsrightscouncil.org|language=en-US|access-date=17 October 2017|archive-date=11 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911025119/http://www.patientsrightscouncil.org/site/assisted-suicide-state-laws/|url-status=live}}</ref>

* {{Cite magazine | vauthors = Aviv R |date= 22 June 2015 |title=Letter from Belgium: Who Has the Right to a Dignified Death?: The Death Treatment |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-death-treatment |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=10 July 2015 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210131335/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-death-treatment |url-status=live }}

* {{Cite magazine | vauthors = Henig RM |author-link=Robin Marantz Henig |date=17 May 2015 |title=The Last Day of Her Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/magazine/the-last-day-of-her-life.html |magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031035358/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/magazine/the-last-day-of-her-life.html |url-status=live }}

* {{Cite web |title=What Is Physician-Assisted Suicide? |url=http://endlink.lurie.northwestern.edu/physician_assisted_suicide_debate/what.cfm |publisher=Northwestern University |date=17 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711080201/http://endlink.lurie.northwestern.edu/physician_assisted_suicide_debate/what.cfm |archive-date=11 July 2006 |url-status=dead |access-date=30 July 2014 }}