Review article
https://doi.org/10.31141/zrpfs.2022.59.146.823
Legal regulation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in certain European
Nevena Aljinović
orcid.org/0000-0001-6557-2796
; Sveučilišni odjel za forenzične znanosti Sveučilišta u Splitu
Abstract
Euthanasia, in its fundamental overtones, evokes social, (bio) ethical, political, and legal implications. Debates about its legal regulation or decriminalization are flagrantly linked to constitutional and fundamental human rights and the values inherent in the human being. Euthanasia ingeniously aspires to the coincidence of the right to life and other values protected by the constitution, especially the individual’s right to privacy and personal autonomy. However, understanding this phenomenon, which is characterized by a dichotomy of the seemingly egalitarian relationship between the sanctity of life and the right to a dignified death, requires a deeper understanding of the historical background, political events, and public opinion that contributed to its legalization or, in some cases, decriminalization. In this regard, the author analyzes the evolution of legal regulation of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and provides a comparative analysis of their legal regulation in European countries that have decided to regulate this through meticulous special legislation or minimal changes to existing legislation—a sensitive issue, evoking consternation of moral values and religious postulates among non-supporters. This paper aims to determine whether the current evolutionary development is leading us to accept not only the decriminalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide but also the right to a dignified death as a reverse right to life, thus providing the necessary legal guarantees.
Keywords
euthanasia; physician-assisted suicide; right to life; right to a dignified death
Hrčak ID:
287633
URI
Publication date:
19.12.2022.
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