In this essay I will research and write about the case of Tony Nicklinson and the law surrounding euthanasia and assisted suicide, this essay will be mainly based on a real-life case of Tony Nicklinson and law about euthanasia in the United Kingdom, and country’s that euthanasia is legal in.
Euthanasia comes from Greek, meaning ‘pleasant death’. It typically refers to the killing of a person for their own good. Usually to end suffering. There are two types of Euthanasia. There is active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is when a medical professional or someone else deliberately does an action which causes the patient to die. The other type of euthanasia is passive. This is brought about by an omission and this is when someone lets a person die. This can be done by either withdrawing or withholding a treatment.
Euthanasia has been and is illegal in the united kingdom. Any person found to be assisting euthanasia is breaking the UKs laws and can be convicted of assisting suicide or attempting to do so. Between 2003 and 2006 ‘Lord Joffe’ made four attempts to introduce bills that would legalized voluntary euthanasia, and all four were rejected by the UKs Parliament. As euthanasia is still illegal in the UK, currently, Dr Nigel Cox is then only British Doctor who has been convicted for attempted euthanasia. In 1992 he was convicted and given a suspended sentence for the attempted murder of Lillian Boyes.
As of 2011 active euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Also assisted euthanasia is legal in Switzerland and in the US states of Washington, Oregon and Montana.
Netherlands became the first EU country to legalise adult euthanasia in 2002. Euthanasia in the Netherlands is regulated by the "Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act from 2002. It states that euthanasia and assisted suicide are not punishable if the doctors acts in accordance to certain criteria. These criteria concern the