Assisted Suicide: Prevalence, Controversy, and Its Impact on Families

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat’s the Difference Between Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia?Varying Opinions on Terminology UsedWhere Is Assisted Suicide Legal?How Prevalent Is Assisted Suicide?What Motivates Assisted Suicide?What to Know About the Arguments For and Against Assisted SuicideHow Assisted Suicide Impacts Loved Ones

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What’s the Difference Between Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia?

Varying Opinions on Terminology Used

Where Is Assisted Suicide Legal?

How Prevalent Is Assisted Suicide?

What Motivates Assisted Suicide?

What to Know About the Arguments For and Against Assisted Suicide

How Assisted Suicide Impacts Loved Ones

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Assistedsuicideis when a physician or someone else aids another person in ending their life.

Physician-assisted suicide is legal in several countries as well as several states in America and is generally only available to mentally competent adults with terminal diagnoses who are expected to live for six months or less. As a result, assisted suicide is often seen as a way to end a patient’s suffering. However, there is still a great deal of controversy over whether assisted suicide should be allowed or not.

Read ahead to learn more about the controversy surrounding assisted suicide, and how the practice impacts families.

When You Don’t Want to Live—But You Don’t Want to Die

The terms assisted suicide and euthanasia are often confused and have been defined in various ways, but they differ in one key way.

Assisted Suicide vs. EuthanasiaAssisted suicideinvolves a physician or someone else providing drugs at the patient’s request that the patient then self-administers with the goal of ending their lifeEuthanasiainvolves a physician or someone else intentionally ending a person’s life

Assisted Suicide vs. Euthanasia

Assisted suicideinvolves a physician or someone else providing drugs at the patient’s request that the patient then self-administers with the goal of ending their lifeEuthanasiainvolves a physician or someone else intentionally ending a person’s life

Types of Euthanasia

Because it involves a physician or another third party taking action toend a person’s life, there are several different kinds of euthanasia:

There Is Much Disagreement Among Use of the Term ‘Assisted Suicide’

Various organizations, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the American Public Health Association, argue against the use of the term “suicide” in assisted suicide because the desire to end one’s life when one is dying is distinct fromtraditional suicidal behaviorwhere someone who is not dying decides to end their life.

Others object to the term “physician-assisted suicide,” due to its focus on the physician. They suggest the term makes it appear as though the physician is the decision-maker, and this draws focus away from the patient.

Alternative Terms: Hastened Death, Assisted Dying, and Medical Aid in Dying

As a result of these various arguments, some have suggested that the terms “hastened death” or “assisted dying” should be used to discuss both euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Meanwhile, many prefer the term “medical aid in dying” as an alternative to assisted suicide:

This plethora of definitions can complicate people’s understanding of assisted suicide.

Today, public opinion has increasingly come to favor assisted suicide and euthanasia. A Gallup poll from 2018 found that 72% of Americans believe that euthanasia should be legal and 65% believe assisted suicide should be legal.

However, only a few states—California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Washington D.C., and Vermont—allow doctor-assisted suicide, and none allow euthanasia.

Internationally, assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland and in parts of Australia, while both assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, and Colombia.

The circumstances under which euthanasia or assisted suicide are permitted vary from country to country and state to state. For example, in the Netherlands, anyone over 12 (although parental consent is required for those under 16) can request euthanasia or assisted suicide if they’re enduring unbearable suffering that won’t improve. On the other hand, in Oregon and Vermont, assisted suicide is only permitted if the patient has a terminal illness.

A Brief History of Assisted SuicideHippocrates, the Greek physician credited with originally composing the Hippocratic Oath that doctors continue to take today, explicitly forbid new physicians from engaging in assisted suicide in the 5th century BC. However, scholars have found that some physicians helped terminally ill patients take their lives, a practice that wasn’t explicitly outlawed.By the 13th century, the widespread adoption of Judeo-Christian beliefs, which frown on ending life via suicide for any reason, had turned most people against the idea of physician-assisted suicide.Nonetheless, throughout history at least some medical professionals have been willing to help terminally ill and suffering people hasten their deaths.

A Brief History of Assisted Suicide

Hippocrates, the Greek physician credited with originally composing the Hippocratic Oath that doctors continue to take today, explicitly forbid new physicians from engaging in assisted suicide in the 5th century BC. However, scholars have found that some physicians helped terminally ill patients take their lives, a practice that wasn’t explicitly outlawed.By the 13th century, the widespread adoption of Judeo-Christian beliefs, which frown on ending life via suicide for any reason, had turned most people against the idea of physician-assisted suicide.Nonetheless, throughout history at least some medical professionals have been willing to help terminally ill and suffering people hasten their deaths.

Hippocrates, the Greek physician credited with originally composing the Hippocratic Oath that doctors continue to take today, explicitly forbid new physicians from engaging in assisted suicide in the 5th century BC. However, scholars have found that some physicians helped terminally ill patients take their lives, a practice that wasn’t explicitly outlawed.

By the 13th century, the widespread adoption of Judeo-Christian beliefs, which frown on ending life via suicide for any reason, had turned most people against the idea of physician-assisted suicide.

Nonetheless, throughout history at least some medical professionals have been willing to help terminally ill and suffering people hasten their deaths.

How to Recognize National Suicide Prevention Week

As a result, 3.3% of all deaths in the country in 2021 were the result of assisted suicide and euthanasia. The Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States are the next three countries where deaths from assisted dying are most prevalent.

One studyestimates that in places where assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal, they remain fairly rare with between 0.3% and 4.6% of deaths resulting from these practices each year.

Researchhas shown that the primary motivations for requesting assisted suicide in the United States are loss ofdignityandautonomyand an inability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable.

While assisted suicide remains relatively rare and evidence suggests the practice isn’t often abused,there is still a great deal of debate about whether or not it should be legal.

Arguments For Assisted Suicide

Arguments Against Assisted Suicide

6 Reasons Why Dying Is Scary

Research suggests that most people with family members who died from assisted suicide experienced the same mental health outcomes as those whose family members died from other causes.

Why Do People Die By Suicide?

15 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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Davis N.Euthanasia and assisted dying rates are soaring. But where are they legal?The Guardian.July 15, 2019.

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Brassington I.What passive euthanasia is.BMC Medical Ethics. 2020;21(41).

Compassion & Choices.Medical Aid in Dying is Not Assisted Suicide, Suicide or Euthanasia.

Brenan M.Americans’ Strong Support for Euthanasia Persists.Gallup. May 31, 2018.

Andre C, Velasquez M.Assisted Suicide: A right or a wrong?Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. 1987.

Brazier Y.What are euthanasia and assisted suicide?Medical News Today. 2022.

National Council on Disability.Federal study finds nation’s assisted suicide laws rife with dangers to people with disabilities.

Emanuel E. Euthanasia and physician‐assisted suicide: Focus on the data.Medical Journal of Australia. 2017;206(8):339-340. doi:10.5694/mja16.00132

Austen I.Is Choosing Death Too Easy in Canada?The New York Times. September 18, 2022.

Ganzini L, Goy ER, Dobscha SK, Prigerson H.Mental health outcomes of family members of Oregonians who request physician aid in dying.Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2009;38(6):807-815. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.04.026

Rapid Response Service.Impact of medical assistance in dying on family and friends. Ontario HIV Treatment Network.2017.

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