Is “aid in dying” suicide?

AbstractThe practice whereby terminally ill patients choose to end their own lives painlessly by ingesting a drug prescribed by a physician has commonly been referred to as physician-assisted suicide. There is, however, a strong trend forming that seeks to deny that this act should properly be termedsuicide. The purpose of this paper is to examine and reject the view that the termsuicide should be abandoned in reference to what has been called physician-assisted suicide. I argue that there are no good conceptual or philosophical reasons to avoid the suicide label. I contend that intending one ’s death is essential to the nature of suicide, and this intention is normally required on the part of the terminally ill patient when she knowingly takes a life-ending drug. Additionally, the analysis shows that any plausible strategy that avoids the termsuicide is counteracted by the way in which advocates of the practice want to make it legal.
Source: Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research