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Many people support the right of a terminally ill patient to die - but what if the right becomes an obligation? And what of the potential for abuse by impatient heirs?

Should dying patients have the right to order their doctors not to start or continue medical treatment? Should doctors be protected from prosecution if they shorten a patient’s life expectancy with pain-killing drugs? Most of us would answer yes to both questions. But does this mean we need a “right to die” law? Or is there more to the issue than what meets the eye?

Public discussion of the treatment of dying patients often confuses two separate issues. First, is the right of the terminally ill person to be allowed to die without being subjected to invasive medical procedures? Second, is the question of whether a dying person should also have the right to hasten his or her own death, and require the help of doctors and nurses to do so?

PATIENTS RIGHTS

It is often overlooked that patients have the common law right to refuse any medical treatment. A doctor who treats a patient against his or her express wishes can be charged with assault. It would be wise to educate people as to their right to refuse treatment. There is no need to convert this well established legal principle into legislation.

Regardless of the intention of “right to die” or “aid in dying” laws, they could very easily open the door to active euthanasia.

In the present climate of opinion, it is easy to imagine a doctor giving a lethal dose of pain-killing drug and then claiming that death was the best way to eliminate physical suffering.

written by admin \\ tags: aid in dying, dying patients, Euthanasia, Euthanasia killing, Euthanasia procedure, lethal dose killing, right to die