Assisted suicide

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Assisted suicide, also commonly referred to as physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the assistance of a medical professional, takes actions to end their life.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

This practice is strictly regulated by the laws and rules of the state or country that a person lives in. The physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs. This practice falls under the concept of the medical right to die (i.e. the right of a person to choose when and how they will die, either through medical aid in dying or refusing life-saving medical treatment).

While assisted suicide is not legal in all countries, it is legal under certain circumstances in some countries including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and parts of the United States. The constitutional courts of Colombia, Ecuador, Estonia and Italy have legalized assisted suicide, but their governments have not yet legislated or regulated the practice.

^ "assisted suicide". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ "Medical Aid In Dying Is Not Assisted Suicide, Suicide or Euthanasia – Compassion & Choices". compassionandchoices.org/. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
^ "California End of Life Option Act (EOLOA)". www.uclahealth.org. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
^ Canada H (16 June 2016). "Medical assistance in dying: Overview". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 5 February 2025.