Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Contrasting the American and European Approaches

Abstract

Physician-Assisted Suicide is permitted in nine states in the United States. The American approach is closely regulated, and patients must be terminally ill with less than 6 months to live. Physicians are not directly allowed to end a patient’s life as patients are required to ingest drugs by their own action. By contrast, a number of countries in Europe allow direct physician participation in ending a person’s life. This article contrasts the American approach with the European approach.