Open AccessHistorical Approaches to Euthanasia: The Unfinished Story of a Concept
Author(s) -
A. Haddadi,
F. Ravaz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
kutafin university law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2410-2059
pISSN - 2313-5395
DOI - 10.17803/2313-5395.2021.1.15.099-114
Subject(s) - bioethics , modalities , modality (human–computer interaction) , treatment modality , psychological intervention , medical ethics , medicine , law , psychology , sociology , political science , social science , psychiatry , surgery , human–computer interaction , computer science
Various ethics committees in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal, and France have made attempts to describe the notion of euthanasia. Opinion No 063 (January 27, 2000) of the National Advisory Committee on Ethics shows that there has been no concensus on the definition of this concept. It is therefore necessary to review historical background of euthanasia from ancient times to modern period to better understand its potential applications in divergent contexts. Studies devoted to euthanasia usually involve two modalities, namely active and passive. The active modality entails the act of deliberately killing a patient with or against their will in order to relieve persistent suffering, while the passive modality deals with the rational valid refusal of life-sustaining medical interventions necessary for the patient's life and health. The goal of this article is to present different historical approaches to euthanasia from two modalities and engage the bioethics community in a discussion on legal, social, and ethical issues of euthanasia all over the world.