ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies main end-of-life measures deliberately undertaken to hasten death. It evaluates arguments for and against the moral permissibility of such measures. The chapter also distinguishes physician-assisted suicide from various forms of medical euthanasia. It presents about how these are implemented in places where one or the other is legal. From the 1970s to the present, some landmark cases in the United States, Britain, and Canada have brought attention to a widespread legal ban on physician-assisted dying (PAD), a category that includes medical euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted dying is often deemed morally impermissible because euthanasia causes the patient's death and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) contributes to causing it. In contrast to passive euthanasia is active euthanasia, which may be voluntary, nonvoluntary, or involuntary, depending on whether the patient gives consent, is unable to do so. The Appeal to Integrity charges that physician-assisted dying conflicts with an essential commitment of medical professionals: the absolute ban on intentionally killing patients.
