Euthanasia : protecting ‘ right to die ’ by denying ‘ right to live ’

The right to die with dignity and conscientious objection

Colombia’s Constitutional Court, at guaranteeing the fundamental right to live and die with dignity, in the liberating expression of human rights, did not forget the mythical image of Charon ferrying the dead in his boat to Hades2. In Colombia, the struggle against death, stubborn and limitless, contrary to the expression of the patients’ will, cannot anymore be accepted as a duty or as a right...

The right to live or die? A perspective on voluntary euthanasia

"It is choice alone that is being honored, without regards for what is chosen." The debate on euthanasia in medical community stays unresolved. In this manuscript, we present arguments for and against euthanasia, review arguments from both the sides and conclude it with our opinion.

Against the right to die.

For some patients, a right to receive euthanasia will not enhance autonomy in the morally relevant sense. Even if these patients choose wisely whether to exercise their right to die, they will still be harmed by having been given it. Perhaps, then, physicians should have permission to administer voluntary euthanasia, but patients should not have a right to receive it.

Euthanasia: Right to life vs right to die

Physician-assisted suicide: the legal slippery slope.

BACKGROUND In Oregon, physicians can prescribe lethal amounts of medication only if requested by competent, terminally ill patients. However, the possibility of extending the practice to patients who lack decisional capacity exists. This paper examines why the legal extension of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) to incapacitated patients is possible, and perhaps likely. METHODS The author revi...