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Thesis Voluntary assisted dying should be legal for competent adults

Elin Lindqvist Fellow
· 8 replies · 290 views
BioethicsAnalytic#assisted-dying#autonomy
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Where it stands

Sweden doesn't allow it. I've worked alongside colleagues from the Netherlands, where it has been legal under statute since 2002, and I've read about Canada, where it became legal in 2016.

The argument for, as I understand it:

  • competent adults have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and lives
  • we already accept refusing life-saving treatment, which can lead to death
  • some suffering can't be fully relieved, even with good palliative care
  • legal regulation is safer than people acting alone or travelling abroad

I'm honestly not sure where I stand, but I'll argue for it here. Persuade me either way.

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8 replies

From the author: revisions and responses

  1. Elin Lindqvist

    Revision by the author Fellow

    Revised position after reading all this: legal, but with stricter safeguards than Canada now has, a requirement that good palliative care was actually offered and available, and an independent review of every case. Aoife and Priya have convinced me the social message matters as much as the individual choice.

For the thesis 3

  1. Deepa Nair

    For Fellow

    The rights argument seems strong to me. India's Supreme Court, in Common Cause (2018), recognised a right to die with dignity as part of the right to life, and allowed passive euthanasia and living wills. If dignity covers refusing treatment, it's hard to see why it stops at actively ending suffering.

    Helpful · 2
  2. Henrike Vogel

    For Fellow

    In Germany the Constitutional Court in 2020 struck down the ban on organised assisted suicide, holding that the right to self-determination includes a right to a self-determined death and to seek help from others. It is a strong statement from a country with very good historical reasons to be cautious.

    Helpful · 1
  3. Anand Pillai

    For Fellow

    Choosing the time of one's death is not alien to Indian traditions. Jains practise sallekhana, a gradual fast unto death, in old age or terminal illness, and regard it as the opposite of suicide because it is undertaken calmly and without passion. That doesn't settle the medical question, but it does show that a voluntary death can be a carefully considered act.

    Helpful · 3

Against the thesis 3

  1. Omar Farouk

    Against Fellow

    As a physician, my worry is about drift. Canada began with a requirement that death be reasonably foreseeable, then removed it in 2021 for some cases, and plans to include mental illness as the sole condition have been repeatedly postponed. Each step looks small; together they change the meaning of medicine.

    Helpful · 1
    1. Elin Lindqvist

      Author’s response Fellow

      Omar, I take the drift point seriously. But is it an argument against legalisation as such, or only against badly drafted law? The Dutch and Belgian experience is also complicated, but some jurisdictions have kept strict limits for many years.

  2. Aoife Brennan

    Against Fellow

    I'm worried about pressure on the vulnerable. If assisted dying is available, every elderly or disabled person who costs their family time and money has a new question to answer: why haven't you chosen it? A right can turn into an expectation.

    Helpful · 3
  3. Priya Raghavan

    Against Fellow

    Many disability rights groups oppose legalisation, and I think their argument is underappreciated. When society says some lives are reasonable to end, it says something about those lives in general, not only about the individuals who choose.

    Helpful · 2