Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

[jenstar]

What is the difference, if there is one?

[Miss Zippy]

Provided you mean voluntary euthanasia, then there is no difference at all in practical terms. Both are terms used to describe a situation where a mentally competent adult who is suffering from an incurable illness (which prevents them from committing suicide unassisted) receives medical help at their own, informed, request that enables them to die. This isn't legal in the UK, though the courts will hear and decide on individual cases. Very recently (20 Feb 2003) a former human rights lawyer introduced the Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill in the House of Lords, but it has only had its first reading so has a way to go yet.

[WaldoMcFroog]

If you're interested in this kind of thing, you might consider signing up to the Diane Pretty appeal at www.ukActNow.org - they send one message every six weeks or so and don't sell your details to spammers.

[andy hughes]

The difference as I understand it is that Euthanasia is a concept based on a belief of limiting life span, either due to criteria based on age, or disease, or variations therof. Assisted Suicide, as the name implies, means the active assistance given to one individual to end their own life. The difference is, believing in the concept of Euthanasia involves thought, belief and theory, the second involves a practical act, which in this country is illegal, although there is an increasing school of thought that believes that any individual should have the right to die if they wish, including those who are unable to end their lives by their own actions.