Providing a patient with the means for ending his life (usually a prescription for a lethal dose of barbiturates), knowing that the patient intends to use it to commit suicide. Although someone other than the patient supplies the means, the patient is the person who takes action to end his life. For AS to occur, the patient must be physically and mentally capable of committing suicide. AS is sometimes called “physician-assisted suicide” because the lethal prescription is typically provided by a physician. Whether professionals should involve themselves in assisted suicide is a topic of active debate. In the U.S. an assisted suicide ballot initiative was approved by voters in Oregon in 1993 and reaffirmed in 1997. Its legality has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Assisted suicide is also legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The deliberate act of concluding one’s own life with the assistance of a physician, relative, or friend, typically when faced with a terminal illness.