assisted suicide
Helped final exit
Assisted suicide is the act of intentionally ending one's own life with help from another person, typically a physician who provides lethal medication.
The term usually appears in debates about whether terminally ill patients should have legal access to such help: The state legalized physician-assisted suicide for patients with less than six months to live.
Distinguished from euthanasia, where another person directly causes death rather than providing the means.
Incurable, deadly medical condition
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
- morphineOpioid analgesic medication
sedation · advance directive · DNR · life support · ventilator · pain management · comfort care · lethal dose
Compassion toward offenders
- empathySharing another's emotions
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- humaneMarked by kindness
- reliefEasing of distress
kindness · supportive · humanitarian · mercy killing · care
Control over one's fate
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- respectRegard with honor
- controlAuthority to direct
- peacefulFree from disturbance
dignified · agency · empowerment · grace · integrity · self-worth · choice · independence
Right and wrong principles
- bioethicsMoral philosophy for medicine
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- beneficenceActive desire to help
philosophy · utilitarianism · deontology · consequentialism · ethical dilemma · sanctity of life · slippery slope · Hippocratic oath
Official enactment of statutes
- decriminalizationEnding criminal status
- legalizationMaking something lawful
- NetherlandsNorthwestern European constitutional monarchy
- SwitzerlandAlpine republic, perpetually neutral
jurisdiction · prosecution · safeguards · waiting period · witness · eligibility · competency · documentation
Prolonged public disagreement
- advocacyPleading for a cause
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- proponentsSupporters of a position
- opponentsThose who compete against
public opinion · activism · lobbying · religious objection · disability rights · testimony · stigma · campaigns
terminal illness
Incurable, deadly medical condition
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
- palliativeOffering relief, not remedy
morphine · sedation · advance directive · DNR · life support · ventilator · pain management · comfort care · lethal dose · barbiturates
mercy
Compassion toward offenders
relief · kindness · supportive · humanitarian · mercy killing · care
self-determination
Control over one's fate
peaceful · dignified · agency · empowerment · grace · integrity · self-worth · choice · independence · bodily autonomy
morality
Right and wrong principles
- bioethicsMoral philosophy for medicine
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- consentVoluntary agreement given
beneficence · philosophy · utilitarianism · deontology · consequentialism · ethical dilemma · sanctity of life · slippery slope · Hippocratic oath · medical ethics
legislation
Official enactment of statutes
- decriminalizationEnding criminal status
- legalizationMaking something lawful
- NetherlandsNorthwestern European constitutional monarchy
Switzerland · jurisdiction · prosecution · safeguards · waiting period · witness · eligibility · competency · documentation · regulation
controversy
Prolonged public disagreement
- advocacyPleading for a cause
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- proponentsSupporters of a position
opponents · public opinion · activism · lobbying · religious objection · disability rights · testimony · stigma · campaigns · right-to-life
- deathdead, deceased, corpse, mortality, demise
- bioethicsbioethics, medical ethics, genetic engineering, beneficence, non-maleficence
- controversial practicesabortion, capital punishment, death penalty, euthanasia, torture
- controversiescontroversy, dispute, scandal, outcry, outrage
- death lawdeath certificate, death certificates, death tax, death penalty, death benefits
- assisted dyingvoluntary euthanasia, right to die, eligibility criteria, safeguards, waiting period
assisted suicidemurder
Deliberate unlawful killing
homicide · killing · execution · manslaughter · assassination
assisted suicidelife support
Systems maintaining vital functions
resuscitation · aggressive treatment · CPR · extraordinary measures · life extension
assist, assistant, suicide, assisted, assisting, unassisted, assistants, assists, suicidal