Legal Status of Physician-Assisted Suicide

International Differences in End-of-Life Attitudes in the Intensive Care Unit

“…Under these conditions, more physicians from the United States thought that it could be helpful to refer outside the ICU than other countries; it is possible that the legal environment in the United States may have some influence on these decisions. 31 In Europe, physicians seem to prefer to decide within the ICU team, rather than involving outside ethical or legal advisers. Participants in Northern and Central Europe replied that they were more likely to involve nurses in the decision making than were respondents from Southern European countries.…”

End-of-Life Issues in Intensive Care Units

“…4 The most probable explanation for the low reported rate is that the two much-contested topics, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, have different legal status in different countries around the world. 30 The former is legal in Switzerland, Japan, Albania, and parts of the Unites States (Washington, Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico, Montana, and California), whereas both are legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Canada, and Luxembourg. 30,31 The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concluded that the majority of the European Member States appears to attach more weight to the protection of an individual's life than to his/her right to terminate it.…”

“…30 The former is legal in Switzerland, Japan, Albania, and parts of the Unites States (Washington, Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico, Montana, and California), whereas both are legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Canada, and Luxembourg. 30,31 The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concluded that the majority of the European Member States appears to attach more weight to the protection of an individual's life than to his/her right to terminate it. Because of the lack of a consensus among the Member States with regards to the right of an individual to decide how and when to end their life, the ECHR Fig.…”