“With reference to the decisions of the Courts and Parliament discuss whether the government should change the law on assisted suicide and allow mercy killings in some circumstances.”
“With reference to the decisions of the Courts and Parliament discuss whether the government should change the law on assisted suicide and allow mercy killings in some circumstances.”
Assisted suicide is a form of self-inflicted death in which a person voluntarily brings about his or her own death with the help of another, usually a physician or relative; however it is a very controversial topic. Currently assisted suicide is illegal in England under the terms of the SUICIDE ACT (1961). It states that aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring somebody in the act of suicide is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.
Involuntary euthanasia is also more commonly referred to as Mercy Killing, and it is the act of painlessly killing someone suffering from an incurable and painful disease or someone in an irreversible vegetative condition with very little quality of life.
Many cases have been brought to court involving assisted suicide and mercy killings. People suffering from degenerative or terminal illnesses usually go to court in order to win a legal battle allowing them to end their own, however these people are usually incapable of physically ending their own life, and therefore aim to win the right to allow a relative or physician to assist them without them facing any legal charges afterwards, as under current law, anyone who assists someone is committing an offence. Court cases that concern mercy killings/involuntary euthanasia are usually involving the family of a patient who is unable to state whether or not they wish to end their own life, but it is usually the family or a doctor who believe that a mercy killing would be in the patients best interests as their quality of life is minimal.
The outcomes of these cases have been mixed, and there is no continuity within the verdicts given, some have been granted the rights to allow assisted suicide and mercy killings whilst others have not.
After researching some of the most controversial and
Assisted suicide is a form of self-inflicted death in which a person voluntarily brings about his or her own death with the help of another, usually a physician or relative; however it is a very controversial topic. Currently assisted suicide is illegal in England under the terms of the SUICIDE ACT (1961). It states that aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring somebody in the act of suicide is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.
Involuntary euthanasia is also more commonly referred to as Mercy Killing, and it is the act of painlessly killing someone suffering from an incurable and painful disease or someone in an irreversible vegetative condition with very little quality of life.
Many cases have been brought to court involving assisted suicide and mercy killings. People suffering from degenerative or terminal illnesses usually go to court in order to win a legal battle allowing them to end their own, however these people are usually incapable of physically ending their own life, and therefore aim to win the right to allow a relative or physician to assist them without them facing any legal charges afterwards, as under current law, anyone who assists someone is committing an offence. Court cases that concern mercy killings/involuntary euthanasia are usually involving the family of a patient who is unable to state whether or not they wish to end their own life, but it is usually the family or a doctor who believe that a mercy killing would be in the patients best interests as their quality of life is minimal.
The outcomes of these cases have been mixed, and there is no continuity within the verdicts given, some have been granted the rights to allow assisted suicide and mercy killings whilst others have not.
After researching some of the most controversial and