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Euthanasia Vs. Assisted Suicide

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Euthanasia is the act of ending a persons life in order to prevent further suffering. There are three different types of euthanasia;
Voluntary euthanasia; This means the patient has giving consent to have their life voluntarily ended, to prevent further suffering. For example, a doctor gives the patient a lethal injection after receiving consent to do so.
Non-Voluntary euthanasia; This means the patient has not giving consent for their life to be ended to prevent further suffering. For example, a doctor has given a patient a lethal injection without consent when the patient is post-coma or unresponsive.
Involuntary euthanasia; This means the patient is competent but has not expressed or wished to die, or has not expressed or wished to live. …show more content…

Assisted suicide is when one helps another kill themselves with full knowledge of what is happening. For example, a relative obtains a lethal drug and provides it to another to assist in them dying. Euthanasia can also be explained as Physician-assisted suicide. This occurs when a patient has requested the doctor to assisted them in death, and the doctor proved them with a lethal dosage of drugs.

But what is the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide? Assisted suicide is different as the person who is assisting does not commit the final act that causes death. For example, one person provides the lethal dosage of drugs, but only the second person takes them. The first person does not physical kill the second person. Euthanasia is different as the first person commits the final act. For example, the doctor injects the patient with the lethal dosage, the patient does not inject it themselves therefore they aren't committing the final act.

Is euthanasia legal in Australia? Non-Voluntary and Involuntary euthanasia are illegal in every country. Although voluntary euthanasia is legal in some countries including Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia and more. For Australia voluntary euthanasia is only legal in the Northern Territory under the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995. If euthanasia were to take place in any other state or territory it may result in a charge of murder, manslaughter or assisted

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