ASSISTED
SUICIDE
REVISE AND/OR REPLACE ALL LAWS AGAINST
CHOOSING
A VOLUNTARY DEATH OR A MERCIFUL DEATH
REVISE
AND/OR REPLACE ALL LAWS RESTRICTING THE RIGHT-TO-DIE
This portal gathers information and suggestions
concerning all laws against assisted-suicide everywhere in the world.
Derek Humphry has collected information about the
laws in several countries:
http://www.assistedsuicide.org/suicide_laws.html
BACKGROUND
From ancient times up thru the middle of the 20th
century,
'suicide' was prohibited and punished.
Alongside such laws against committing
suicide
there was often another section of law prohibiting assisting a suicide.
During the 20th century, almost all laws against
committing suicide
were repealed.
The thought behind this change of law
was that people who want to kill themselves
are suffering from personal problems
that call for compassion
and perhaps treatment
rather than punishment.
Counseling and problem-solving are more
appropriate than prison.
And if suicidal people become a serious danger to themselves,
civil commitment was
thought to be a better approach
than using the criminal
justice system to prevent the self-harming behavior.
In many places on the Earth,
the laws against assisting a
suicide have not been examined for many
decades.
Some have been on the books for over 100 years, unchanged.
They remain on the books even tho they are seldom used.
However, with the advent of modern medicine,
new situations at the
end-of-life arose,
which created problems of choice concerning the best time to die,
which were never considered when laws against 'assisting sucide' were
written.
Thus, new legislation is needed to permit the
right-to-die
while at the same time continuing
to prohibit and punish assisting an IRRATIONAL suicide.
DEFINITIONS AND DISTINCTIONS
In writing any new laws, we need to make
clear
what behavior is prohibited
and what behavior is
permitted.
ASSISTING AN IRRATIONAL SUCIDE SHOULD CONTINUE TO BE AGAINST THE LAW
Irrational suicides are forms of commiting harm
against oneself.
Even when self-harming is not itself prohibited,
assisting others to harm
themselves should continue to be a criminal offense.
"Four
Differences between Irrational Suicide and Voluntary Death"
This essay asks about the proposed death:
Will it be: harmful, irrational, capricious, & regrettable?
If "yes", it is an irrational suicide.
If "no", it is a voluntary death.
26 Recommended
Safeguards (A-Z)
This comprehensive set of safeguards
provides practical, operational ways of separating
irrational suicides
from vountary deaths.
PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE AND LAWS
ALREADY REVISED
A. Gentle Poison Laws and Proposals
The right-to-die movement has focused mainly on
creating new laws
that grant permission
for doctors to prescribe life-ending chemicals,
which qualified patients will then administer to themselves.
In the USA, Oregon and Washington states have the first examples of
such laws.
The Oregon
Death with Dignity Act
This presentation of the text of the Oregon law
highlights the safeguards embodied in the law
and links them to further explanation of those safeguards.
Washington
State Death with Dignity Act
Very similar to the Oregon law,
this Washington State law also has
its safeguards highlighted and linked to further explanation.
The
California Compassionate Choices Bill
Even tho this bill did not pass in 2007,
it contains significant improvements over the Oregon model.
A
few more laws and proposals will be found here.
B. Proposals for Changing Laws against Assisting
Suicide
Proposed
Model Law against Causing Premature Death
Section V of this draft legislation lists 26 safeguards
for choosing a wise, ethical, & timely death.
C. Discussion of the Differences between these
Approaches
Advantages
of the Premature-Death Approach to the Right-to-Die
This link leads to 10 advantages of this approach
in contrast to the laws that allow giving lethal chemicals.
Two Approaches
to Right-to-Die Laws:
Granting Permission & Banning Harms
This short essay shows how placing the right-to-die within homicide laws
has several legal advantages over health-care laws permitting
gentle
poisons.
STATE-BY-STATE CHANGES IN THE LAWS AGAINST ASSISTING SUICIDE
{Please submit links for any and all specific changes proposed.}
MEDICAL PRACTICES THAT SHOULD NOT
BE CONSIDERED ASSISTING A SUICIDE
Pulling the
Plug:
A Paradigm for Life-Ending Decisions .
This essay shows that disconnecting life-supports
has not been considered a means of suicide.
When Is
A
Person?
Pre-Persons & Former Persons
.
Medical practice should take into account the quality of life of the
patient.
Four
Differences between Mercy-Killing and Merciful Death .
The same four distinctions that separate irrational suicide from
voluntary death
also define the differences between mercy-killing and merciful death.
Voluntary
Death
by Dehydration
.
When a patient chooses to die by giving up water and food,
this is usually not an irrational suicide.
SUICIDE PREVENTION
Depressed?
Don't Kill
Yourself! .
This essay directly addresses several questionable 'reasons'
that lead some people toward irrational suicide.
Further
reading:
Best
Books on Voluntary Death
Books on Helping People to Die
Best Books on
the Right-to-Die
Books
Opposing
the Right-to-Die
Go to the Right-to-Die
Portal.
Created
March 18, 2009; Revised 3-21-2009; 3-22-2009; 3-28-2009