Posted by Dr. Bob on December 17, 2013, at 23:50:48
In reply to Re: should we have the Right To Die?, posted by alexandra_k on December 17, 2013, at 3:51:00
> > Withdrawing treatment, and treating pain, isn't usually considered euthanasia.
>
> doctrine of double effect?That applies to treating pain. One discussion of various distinctions:
> > The term "euthanasia" is usually confined to the active variety; ... "euthanasia generally means that the physician would act directly, for instance by giving a lethal injection, to end the patient's life". Physician-assisted suicide [in which the physician doesn't act directly] is thus not classified as euthanasia ... Unlike physician-assisted suicide, withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments with patient consent (voluntary) is almost unanimously considered, at least in the United States, to be legal. The use of pain medication in order to relieve suffering, even if it hastens death, has been held as legal in several court decisions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia
Bob
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poster:Dr. Bob
thread:1056343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20131211/msgs/1056461.html