physician-assisted suicide

Once criminal, suicide and attempted suicide have been removed from the scope of criminal law in some jurisdictions. Indeed, in the U.S. state of Oregon the Death with Dignity Act (passed in 1997) allows terminally ill individuals to end their lives through the use of lethal medications…

…certain forms of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. In 1997 physician-assisted suicide was legalized in the U.S. state of Oregon, and in 2000 the Netherlands became the first country to enact a national law providing physicians with immunity from prosecution for mercy killings.

…gained international attention through his assistance in the suicides of more than 100 patients, many of whom were terminally ill.

Physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill is legal in 10 U.S. states and the District of Columbia as well as a number of countries including Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Australia.