physician-assisted suicide
Doctor-helped voluntary death
Physician-assisted suicide is the practice of a doctor providing a terminally ill patient with the means to end their own life, typically through a prescription for lethal medication.
The patient self-administers the drugs rather than having them administered by the physician—distinguishing it from euthanasia.
Legal in several U.S. states and some countries, often under strict conditions requiring terminal diagnosis and mental competency.
Also called medical aid in dying or assisted dying, terms preferred by advocates who find "suicide" misleading for end-of-life decisions.
- religious doctrineOfficial spiritual teaching
- hospiceTerminal illness comfort program
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- dignityInnate personal worth
- quality of lifeGeneral life satisfaction
lethal dose · slippery slope · societal norms · moral agency · non-maleficence · judicial precedent · medical ethics · informed consent · living will · end of life · final exit · last breath · terminal illness · sedation · prescription drugs · mercy killing · criminal liability · patient rights
physician-assisted suicidelife extension
Prolonging human lifespan artificially
aggressive treatment · life support · palliative care · full code · vitalism
physician, physicians, physic, physics, physical, physically, physique, assist, assisted