Euthanasia, (from the Greek “ew” meaning good, and Thanatos meaning “death”) involves the physician acting to cause the patient’s death. This is frequently accomplished by administering a lethal injection or removing the patient from some form of life-support. The defining characteristic of euthanasia is that it is the physician, not the patient, who carries out the ultimate life-ending action.
Passive euthanasia is allowed in most countries as the practice is generally associated with a patient’s right to refuse medical treatment, rather than a request that the physician kills him/her. The underlying premise of this argument is the belief that the right to choose how to live one’s life necessarily encompasses the right to choose how to end it; however, it is illegal in most of the United States.
While some people decide to commit suicide at home, many others are selecting other nearby or foreign destinations to end their lives, enabling a few states and countries to become a breeding ground for “death tourists.”
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Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the US for all ages (CDC). It may be difficult to accept the fact that globally 800,000 – 1 million (WHO) people commit suicide each year (approximately one person every 40 seconds); twice the number of people who die from homicide.
Older adults make up 12 percent of the US population, but account for 18 percent of all suicide deaths. Of the more than 47, 000 suicides that took place in the US in 2017, those 65 and older accounted for more than 8,500 of them (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Due to the stigma associated with suicide, and the reality that it is illegal in some states and countries, the numbers could be an underestimate as suicides are frequently classified as unintentional injuries.
One in 4 seniors who attempts to kill themselves will die, compared to 1 in 200 youths. Men who are 65 and older face the highest risk of suicide, while adults 85 and older, regardless of gender, are the second most likely age group to die from suicide. Not counted are silent suicides such as deaths from overdoses, self-starvation, dehydration, and “accidents.”
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Suicide/assisted suicide/euthanasia death is legal in:
o California (2016)
o Colorado (2016)
o Hawaii (2018/2019)
o Maine (2020)
o New Jersey (2019)
o New Mexico (2021)
o Oregon (1994)
o Texas (1999)
o Vermont (2013, only permitted for terminal illness)
o Washington (2009)
o Washington, DC (2016/2017)
In Montana, a district court judge declared (December 2008) that the state’s constitution recognizes the right of terminally ill patients to “die with dignity,” by obtaining a prescription for lethal medication from their physicians. The decision was challenged, and the court held that a physician’s aid in a patient’s death does not violate the state’s public policy exception. Montana legally recognizes PAS although the right has not been codified by statute.
In the US, there are no federal laws directly permitting or prohibiting PAS or euthanasia. The right to legislate end-of-life procedures lies within the purview of the individual states.
