ABSTRACT
In the UK, no distinction is made between euthanasia and murder because, as a deliberate killing, it is put in the same class as murder irrespective of any distinctions between them. While it has to be conceded that both euthanasia and murder involve intentional killing, there are nonetheless very obvious differences between them which are manifested in the ‘victim’s’ consent, the presence of compassionate motives, the context in which the death takes place and the circumstances of the person who dies. A just legal system should acknowledge these conceptual distinctions by formally treating differently those people who are affected by them (Murphy 1987: 7).1
