Assistance in Dying: Part I. Europe—The Vanguard

This Nexus provides background information about assistance in dying. The international perspective based on developments in Western Europe, especially the Netherlands, provides a useful context in which to place events in the United States. Part II considers the history and legal context of assistance in dying in the United States. Oregon is given special attention because it remains the only state with legally sanctioned assistance in dying. Readers are urged to bear in mind the definitions and distinctions among assisted dying, the various forms of euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. Informed observers of the discussion will readily see that the terms and concepts are often used imprecisely and as though they are synonymous. Productive debate of assistance in dying will occur only if all those involved agree on definitions and the meaning of the concepts.