Euthanasia

Euthanasia is when a person's life is purposely ended because of disease or pain, which has made them suffer. This is different from assisted suicide, where a person helps someone kill themselves. It is also different to murder, where the reason is not suffering, but to kill for the killer's own ends. Euthanasia can be voluntary, where the person who dies asks for help in ending their life. Where the person is unable to make their decision known, it is usually called non-voluntary euthanasia. Where someone is killed against their will, it is usually called murder.

Euthanasia is illegal in most countries. It is permitted in a small number of countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Victoria, Australia.^[1] The New Zealand Parliament voted 69 - 51 to pass the End of Life choice Bill. In Is it Time to Kill the Kiwi Archived 2020-02-21 at the Wayback Machine the Rt Hon Simeon Brown said international precedents show that euthanasia regimes result in the involuntary death of innocent lives, often those who are marginalized and vulnerable. The final decision will be made in a binding public referendum. Where it is permitted there are many rules, and only in cases where the patient is terminally ill. Though euthanasia is not legal in the United States, doctors can assist people to kill themselves. This is legal in Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Physician Assisted Suicide (PAD) is different to euthanasia; it is about who gives the medication to end a patient’s life. The World Federation of Right to Die Societies says physician-assisted suicide means "making lethal means available to the patient to be used at a time of the patient’s own choosing." In these cases the patient takes the legal dose of poison themselves, it is not given by the doctor. It is euthanasia when the doctor has the main role in ending the patient’s life by giving the poison.

1. ↑ Edwards, Jean (29 November 2017). "Euthanasia: Victoria becomes the first Australian state to legalise voluntary assisted dying". ABC News. Retrieved 5 July 2017.