Legal Restrictions of Physician-Assisted Suicide

Abstract:

The author will begin by examining the distinction between prohibited active euthanasia and lawful indirect active euthanasia which is a subcategory of the former (II), and continue by discussing the legal issues of assisted suicide, and physician-assisted suicide in particular (III). The current debate on passive euthanasia will only be touched upon.

This short analysis shows that the question is not so much which legal restrictions prevent the permission of active euthanasia. Rather, the focus should be placed on identifying how this highly controversial subject can be freed from polarised debate in order to achieve practical solutions and how legal regulation can contribute to this.