Hippocrates mentions euthanasia in the
Hippocratic Oath, which was written between 400 and 300 BC. The original Oath states: "To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death." Despite this, the ancient Greeks and Romans generally did not believe that life needed to be preserved at any cost and were, in consequence, tolerant of suicide in cases where no relief could be offered to the dying or, in the case of the
Stoics and
Epicureans, where a person no longer cared for his life.
English Common Law from the 14th century until the middle of the last century made suicide a criminal act in England and Wales. Assisting others to kill themselves remains illegal in that jurisdiction. However, in the 16th century,
Thomas More, considered a
saint by Roman Catholics, described a
utopian community and envisaged such a community as one that would facilitate the death of those whose lives had become burdensome as a result of "torturing and lingering pain", see .
Modern Since the 19th century, euthanasia has sparked intermittent debates and activism in Europe and the Americas. According to medical historian
Ezekiel Emanuel, it was the availability of anesthesia that ushered in the modern era of euthanasia. In 1828, the first known anti-euthanasia law in the United States was passed in the state of New York, with many other localities and states following suit over a period of several years. After the Civil War, voluntary euthanasia was promoted by advocates, including some doctors. Support peaked around the start of the 20th century in the US and then grew again in the 1930s. In an article in the
Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Brown University historian Jacob M. Appel documented extensive political debate over legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide in both Iowa and Ohio in 1906. Appel indicates social activist
Anna Sophina Hall, a wealthy heiress who had watched her mother die of
liver cancer, was the driving force behind this movement. In 1937, doctor-assisted euthanasia was declared legal in Switzerland as long as the doctor ending the life had nothing to gain. Four patients died through assisted suicide under the Act, using a
device designed by Dr
Philip Nitschke. The legislation was overturned by Australia's Federal Parliament in 1997. The
Supreme Court of Western Australia ruled that it was up to Christian Rossiter, aged 49, to decide if he was to continue to receive medical care (tube feeding) and that his carers had to abide by his wishes. Chief Justice
Wayne Martin also stipulated that his carers, Brightwater Care, would not be held criminally responsible for following his instructions. Rossiter died on 21 September 2009 following a chest infection. Voluntary assisted dying schemes have been in effect in the following states;
Victoria since 19 June 2019,
Western Australia since 1 July 2021,
Tasmania since 23 October 2022,
Queensland since 1 January 2023, and
South Australia since 31 January 2023.
New South Wales was the final state to pass legislation for assisted dying in May 2022, which went into effect on 28 November 2023.
New Zealand In New Zealand's 2020 general election the country included a
binding referendum asking voters if the
End of Life Choice Act 2019 should pass. The Act would legalise voluntary euthanasia for patients with a terminal illness and less than six months left to live if approved by two doctors. New Zealand is the first country to put euthanasia legalisation to a referendum. On 17 October 2020, 65.91% of voters supported the passing of the act; a majority. On 21 November 2021, the act was put into place.
Colombia On 20 May 1997, the
Constitutional Court of Colombia decriminalised piety homicide, for terminally ill patients, stating that "the medical author cannot be held responsible for the assisted suicide of a terminally ill patient" and urged
Congress to regulate
euthanasia "in the shortest time possible". On 15 December 2014, the Constitutional Court had given the
Ministry of Health and Social Protection 30 days to publish guidelines for the healthcare sector to use in order to guarantee terminated ill patients, with the wish to undergo euthanasia, their right to a dignified death. On 7 January 2022, Victor Escobar became the first person to undergo voluntary euthanasia without a terminal illness in the country; he had been suffering from
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Voluntary euthanasia had been legalised in Colombia for people who did not have a terminal illness in July 2021.
Europe In 1957 in Britain,
Mr Justice Devlin ruled in the trial of
Dr John Bodkin Adams that causing death through the administration of lethal drugs to a patient, if the intention is solely to alleviate pain, is not considered murder even if death is a potential or even likely outcome. In 1993, the Netherlands decriminalized doctor-
assisted suicide, and in 2002, restrictions were loosened. During that year, physician-assisted suicide was approved in
Belgium. Belgium's at the time most famous author
Hugo Claus, suffering from
Alzheimer's disease, was among those that asked for euthanasia. He died in March 2008, assisted by an
Antwerp doctor.
United States A key turning point in the debate over voluntary euthanasia (and physician assisted dying), at least in the United States, was the public furor over the
Karen Ann Quinlan case. The Quinlan case paved the way for legal protection of voluntary passive euthanasia. In 1977, California legalized living wills and other states soon followed suit. In 1980 the
Hemlock Society USA was founded in Santa Monica by
Derek Humphry. It was the first group in the
United States to provide information to the terminally ill in case they wanted a hastened death. Hemlock also campaigned and partially financed drives to reform the law. In 2003 Hemlock was merged with End of Life Choices, which changed its name to Compassion and Choices. In 1990, Dr.
Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan physician, became famous for educating and assisting people in committing physician-assisted suicide, which resulted in a Michigan law against the practice in 1992. Kevorkian was tried and convicted in 1999 for a murder displayed on television. In 1994, Oregon voters approved the
Death with Dignity Act, permitting doctors to assist terminal patients with six months or less to live to end their lives. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed such laws in 1997. In November 2008,
Washington Initiative 1000 made Washington the second U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide.
China and Hong Kong Euthanasia is a criminal offense in China. For example, in
Shanghai a 67-year-old man was sentenced to five years in prison when he euthanized his 92-year-old mother when she emerged from a hospital procedure only able to move one finger and one toe. The sentence was considered lenient because he had displayed
filial piety toward his mother. While active euthanasia remains illegal in China, it is gaining increasing acceptance among doctors and the general populace. Medical practitioners in China support euthanasia laws. A 2006 research emphasised that studies in the 1990s revealed a substantial surge in support for euthanasia, particularly among medical personnel. This is corroborated by a poll conducted by the
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, which found that 95% of medical staffs approved of the act of euthanasia. Chinese culture, with its emphasis on filial piety and a taboo surrounding discussions of death, poses significant obstacles to the development of euthanasia. The concept of euthanasia is often seen as pessimistic in this cultural context. However, Buddhism, the predominant religion in China, views euthanasia as a means to achieve a peaceful and suffering-free death, making it more acceptable to some. In Hong Kong, support for euthanasia among the general public is higher among those who put less importance on religious belief, those who are non-Christian, those who have higher family incomes, those who have more experience in taking care of terminally ill family members, and those who are older.
Canada Legislation in Canada is actively evolving and debated. In 2016, Canadian parliament passed legislation allowing eligible adults to request medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Legal access to MAiD was initially limited to persons whose death was "reasonable foreseeable", however the law was amended in 2021 to include persons who had a grievous, irremediable and irreversible medical condition, even if it is not fatal or terminal. An exclusion currently exists for persons whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. == Arguments for and against ==