Active Euthanasia: Death caused by lethal injection or drugs, includes physician-assisted suicide. The practice is illegal in most countries.
What are living wills who can make a living will: Where individuals can express their wish at a prio rpoint in time, when capable of making informed decisions, regarding their medical treatment in the future, when they may not be able make an informed decision
Exercise of the right to refuse treatment and the right to die with dignity
Countries that allow active euthanasia shown on the map.
Who can make a living will: Anybody can. SC’s judgment allows living wills to be executed for the terminally ill. So you can make a living will that’ll be in force in future if at the time you suffer from a terminal illness and cannot take a decision.
Passive Euthanasia: When doctors don’t provide, or remove patients from, lifesustaining treatment. Includes: Disconnecting life-support machines, feeding tubes, not carrying out life-saving operations, not providing life-extending drugs, Non-treatment not seen as cause of death; patient understood to have died because of underlying condition.
Safeguards that some other countries that allow living wills, specify
All countries that allow euthanasia have safeguards built into the provision in various ways. By specifying who may act as witness, By allowing a person to change his/her mind, By allowing validity of directive to be challenged.
Netherlands: Patients aged 16 or above may make advance directives.
Hungary: Pregnant women can’t refuse treatment if they’re able to carry through the pregnancy.
Germany: Court authorisation reqd to stop treatment of minor.
Switzerland: Persons with mental illnesses cannot discontinue treatment if it is expression or symptom of their mental illness.
Australia: Living wills to be signed in presence of two witnesses, with rules on who can be witness: Not if he/ she 1) is a substitute decision-maker in the living will, 2) stands to profi t, directly or indirectly, from the person’s estate or 3) is a health practitioner for the person writing the living will.
UK: Person can alter/ withdraw an advance decision at any time he has the capacity to do so.
Oregon, US: Person can change his/ her mind at any time and as many times, quash a written request for medication regardless of mental state.
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