Definitions - What is physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia?
By Elenor Schoen
Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a patient self-administers a lethal dose of an oral medication that has been prescribed by a physician.
Euthanasia is "an action or an omission which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may in this way be eliminated. Euthanasia's terms of reference, then, are to be found in the intention of the will and of the methods used.
Active euthanasia is the intentional killing of a person by an act of commission, and can also be voluntary or involuntary, depending on the desire and the ability of the patient to make an informed consent or dissent to their death.
Passive euthanasia is an act of omission by withholding or withdrawing medical treatments that could preserve a person's life precisely in order to bring about death. This can be either a voluntary act, where the patient gives permission, or involuntary, where the patient does not give permission, or is incapable of making such a decision.
The outcome is the same in the case of both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia: a life comes to an abrupt end, with or without the permission of that individual.