Definition

Noun: - Assisted suicide where the assistant is a physician: The act of intentionally ending one's own life with the direct help of a medical doctor, typically through the provision of a lethal dose of medication. This practice involves a physician playing an active role in enabling the death of a patient who has made a voluntary, informed, and persistent request, usually due to a terminal or incurable illness causing unbearable suffering.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The debate over the legalization of physician-assisted suicide continues in many countries.
  • Some jurisdictions have specific laws that permit physician-assisted suicide under strict regulatory conditions.
  • Her memoir detailed her considered choice to pursue physician-assisted suicide after her terminal diagnosis.

Advanced Usage

• "to seek/request physician-assisted suicide": To formally ask for medical aid in dying from a doctor.
  • The patient, after exhausting all treatment options, decided to seek physician-assisted suicide.
• "a law on/regulating physician-assisted suicide": Legislation that makes the practice legal and defines its procedures.
  • The new act is a comprehensive law regulating physician-assisted suicide.

Variants and Related Words

• Assisted suicide (n): A broader term for suicide facilitated by another person, who may or may not be a medical professional.
• Medical aid in dying (n): A term often used synonymously with or as a preferred alternative to "physician-assisted suicide," emphasizing the medical context and the goal of relieving suffering.
• Euthanasia (n): A general term for the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. It can be voluntary, non-voluntary, or involuntary, and may involve a more active role (e.g., lethal injection by a doctor) than typical definitions of physician-assisted suicide.

Synonyms

• Medical aid in dying: (Contextual synonym, often used in legal and medical discourse)
• Doctor-assisted dying: (A less formal synonym)

Important Notes on Meaning

• Key Distinction from Euthanasia: In common ethical and legal definitions, physician-assisted suicide typically refers to a physician for a patient to self-administer life-ending drugs. This is often distinguished from , where the physician directly administers the lethal substance. The patient's final act is a key differentiating factor.
• Voluntary Nature: The concept is intrinsically linked to the patient's voluntary, competent, and repeated request. It is not applicable to non-voluntary or involuntary actions.

Noun

1. assisted suicide where the assistant is a physician