1. Will Legalization of Euthanasia Prove to be a Slippery
Slope?
MOS Medical Record Reviews
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Street, Suite H Tulsa, OK 74133
Legalization of euthanasia is creating a
major concern in the minds of people
because of the risk it poses to the rights
of safety and integrity for every person’s
life.

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Euthanasia or assisted suicide (also termed mercy killing) involves taking a deliberate action
with the express intention of ending a life to provide relief from constant, relentless
suffering. Medical records review and review of other evidence are important processes
that are performed before an attorney or criminal prosecutor officially accepts a personal
injury case associated with involuntary euthanasia, wrongful death, or negligence. This
review is usually provided by a qualified practitioner who may utilize medical review service
to speed up the review process and to ensure accuracy. The case is evaluated from a clinical
perspective to determine whether or not the standards of care were/were not violated.
Euthanasia is classified as:
 Voluntary euthanasia: This refers to assisted suicide conducted with the consent of
the patient.
 Involuntary euthanasia: This refers to euthanasia conducted without the patient’s
consent. The decision is made by another person because the patient is not capable
to do so himself/herself.
Depending of the procedure used, euthanasia is classified into:
 Passive euthanasia: when life-sustaining treatments are withheld.
 Active euthanasia: when lethal substances/forces are used to end the patient’s life. It
includes life-ending actions conducted by the patient or some other person.
In most countries in the world, euthanasia is against the law. For example, in the United
Kingdom it is illegal to assist somebody to kill themselves, irrespective of circumstances. In
the U.K, voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide carries a maximum sentence of 14 years
in prison. In the United States, the law varies in individual states.
 4 states, CA, OR, VT and WA have legalized physician-assisted suicide via legislation
 1 state, MT has legal physician-assisted suicide via court ruling
 38 states have laws prohibiting assisted suicide
 3 states, AL, MA and WV and the District of Columbia prohibit assisted suicide by
common law
 4 states – NV, NC, UT, and WY do not have specific laws as regards assisted suicide,
may not recognize common law, or are not clear regarding the legality of assisted
suicide.
Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium have legalized euthanasia. These countries have put
in place procedures to control the practices, to ensure societal oversight and to prevent the

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abuse/misuse of this physician assisted suicide. However, the extent to which these
procedures have been effective need to be more closely inspected.
Under Belgium’s 13-year-old euthanasia law, a record number (2,022) Belgians were legally
euthanized last year. The first year (2002) that the practice was legalized, 24 people were
euthanized. A total number of 12,762 people were officially euthanized since the
implementation of the law, as per the report from the Belgium Euthanasia Control
Commission. The law is very liberal in Belgium and makes euthanasia legal for anyone who
is in “constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be
alleviated.”Belgium and the Netherlands allow euthanasia for psychological conditions such
as depression and non-terminal illnesses. In the year 2014, Belgium lifted age restrictions
for individuals under age 18, and the first child died by euthanasia though the age and
identity of the child are not known. The child was suffering from an incurable disease and
had asked for euthanasia. Belgium has other additional strict conditions such as the child
should be able to understand what euthanasia means, to allow the procedure. Moreover, the
consent of parents/guardians must also be given. The Netherlands allows euthanasia to be
performed for minors above 12 years.
Canada has permitted passive and active euthanasia since February 2016. Switzerland
permits active euthanasia if the person assisting “acts unselfishly.”
The question now is will legalization of euthanasia be disastrous ultimately? There are many
observers who feel it may prove to be so. Lawmakers in Belgium and Netherlands propose
to allow euthanasia for people:
 Who are simply fed up of life
 Who are unable to express their will
Doctors who do not wish to perform the procedure may be obliged to refer patients to other
doctors. Such developments should act as a warning sign for the United States, where
assisted suicide is increasing. In the US, laws pertaining to this vary from state to state but
necessitate that:
 Patients must be terminally ill with a prognosis of less than 6 months to live
 The terminally ill person is required to self-administer the life-ending drugs
Votaries of assisted suicide hold the view that it is an alternative to palliative care and
hospice care to relieve pain and suffering and allows the terminally ill to die in peace.
However, the UN has found that the euthanasia law in the Netherlands is in violation of its

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights because of the risk it poses to the rights of safety
and integrity for every person’s life. They have expressed concern about the fact that the
system may fail to identify and prevent situations in which individuals could be placed under
tremendous pressure to access/provide euthanasia and could even get around the
safeguards that are in place.