Assisted suicide: Difference between revisions

'''Assisted suicide''' – sometimes 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=}}</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= |archive-date= |access-date=}}</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.

Some doctors<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kass L | title = Neither for love nor money: why doctors must not kill | journal = The Public Interest | number = 94 | pages = 25–46 | year = 1989 | volume = No. 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}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266652/Hippocratic-oath|title=Hippocratic oath|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=10 May 2024 }}</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 }}</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>