Ethics of palliative care

Question 1

Define physician assisted suicide

Answer 1

doctor provides means for patient to end their life
- including palliative support or (for example) anti-emetics

Question 2

Define active voluntary euthanasia

Answer 2

doctor administers drug or other intervention directly causing death

Question 3

Define passive voluntary euthanasia

Answer 3

care withdrawn (in some cases including artificial feeding and hydration) and death results

Question 4

What are the legal conditions for voluntary euthanasia/physician assisted suicide (where legal)?

Answer 4

patient must be:
- suffering from terminal illness
- unlikely to benefit from medical advances
- ‘unacceptably burdensome’ quality of life
- enduring, voluntary and competent wish to die
- unable to end life without assistance