In Greek, euthanasia is “good death”, and at all times the possibility of a seriously ill person to die of his own free will, without experiencing pain and torment, was supported or disputed by the religious, secular and medical community. Today we know in which countries euthanasia is permitted. By the way, even a special type of medical tourism — suicidal tourism — that is, a trip for the opportunity to die without legal delay, has developed in them, by the way.
History
In fact, the killing of sick people and even children has been practiced at all times. The term has Greek roots, since it was the Greeks who were the first to take the practice of killing wounded comrades on the battlefield so that they would not suffer from incurable injuries. We all remember the ancient Spartans, who threw sick or crippled children from the cliff not only to rid themselves of their worries, but also to stop the child’s suffering. By the way, such practices, according to ethnographers, were also used by ancient peoples, for example, the Far North or Oceania, up to the 19th century.
In the modern world, before World War II, in some European countries there was no ban on euthanasia, and this did not contradict the moral and ethical principles of society. However, the fascist T4 program, during which the Germans, fighting for the purity of the Aryan race, killed the mentally retarded people and even children, as well as patients with mental disorders, discredited these ideas for the next 50 years.
Theory and practice of euthanasia
In the modern world, euthanasia is the humane termination of life of a terminally ill person with his consent (or his relatives) in order to rid him of suffering. It is used mainly in cases where the patient's quality of life is at the lowest level, and he experiences pain, but there is no chance of recovery.
Also today, two types of euthanasia are distinguished:
- Passive - used in cases where the patient is connected to a life support system. In this case, doctors simply disconnect a person from devices that support life. Most often this is done for patients in a deep coma with the permission of relatives.
- Active - the introduction to the patient of drugs that guarantee a quick and painless death. These are usually injections or drugs in liquid form, representing a cocktail of sedatives, barbiturates and anesthesia. This also includes cases where a doctor can provide a person with the necessary amount of medication for his independent departure from life.
Different aspects of euthanasia
A difficult and terrible choice - to continue living with an incurable disease, experiencing pain and suffering, condemning loved ones to them, or make a decision while a person is still able to think sensibly - this is the main question of euthanasia. The main stumbling blocks in matters of its legalization are legal, ethical and religious.
The simplest aspect is legal. In countries where euthanasia is prohibited, it is regarded as homicide. In some other states, euthanasia as such is not permitted, but it is used but is veiled under other procedures. This is done so that the doctor conducting the procedure does not experience problems with the law in the future.
More difficult with moral and religious aspects. On the one hand, it is suicide and murder, and in most religions it is a mortal sin, and even in the Soviet state there is high pressure on a person in these matters. The state often cannot take responsibility and allow to dispose of someone else's life, even with the permission of the patient himself. Yes, and many doctors hesitate to perform such duties, since they contradict not only moral principles, but also the Hippocratic oath.
In Russia
Speaking about the countries in which euthanasia is allowed, it is worth noting separately that the Russian Federation is not included in this list. In our country, this is equivalent to murder in terms of liability, and this issue is regulated by the Criminal Code and legislation, namely Federal Law No. 323 “On the Basics of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation”.
Given the countries in which euthanasia is allowed for foreigners, Russian citizens can only go on their last trip to one of them. The last time in 2007, on behalf of the deputies, a proposal was put forward to amend the Criminal Code and permit euthanasia in Russia, but the proposal was met with a storm of public outrage and was withdrawn.
In which country is euthanasia permitted?
After the brutal killings by fascists of millions of people, euthanasia was banned throughout the civilized world. Only 50 years later, this question began to be raised in Europe. Thanks to this, today we know in which countries euthanasia is permitted. The list is as follows:
- Netherlands.
- Belgium.
- Luxembourg.
- Albania.
- Switzerland (only in Zurich).
- USA (only in the states of Vermont, Oregon, Washington, Georgia).
- Canada.
Having specified in which countries euthanasia is allowed, we note that there are countries where there is no official legalization, but precedents do occur there. These are Japan and Colombia. In these countries, litigation is even taking place in some cases. However, euthanasia is actually possible in these countries.
Modern practice
In 1984, the Netherlands was the first to legalize the right to voluntarily withdraw from life of seriously and painfully ill people. Following the Netherlands, other Benelux countries joined the practice , namely Belgium and Luxembourg. In Luxembourg, by the way, a patient who intends to receive euthanasia must obtain the consent of two doctors at once. Here, doctors make and keep appropriate notes to prove that the decision to die was made by the sick or relatives, and did not become a mistake or a criminal will of the doctor himself.
In 1999, Albania allowed passive euthanasia for coma patients with the consent of three relatives. Despite the legislative authorization of the procedure, the Catholic Church, which is very strong in the country, is promoting the ban on euthanasia.
Since 2002, children over 12 years old have the right to euthanasia in the Netherlands, and since 2014 any age restrictions have been lifted in Belgium, that is, even a child of any age can receive euthanasia with the consent of his parents or guardians.
Since the Netherlands and Belgium are countries with some of the mildest conditions of euthanasia, the authorities, out of fear of the flow of suicidal tourists, made a number of reservations that tightened the conditions of the procedure. For example, it is understood that a trusting relationship must be established between the patient and the doctor.
Since 1941, euthanasia has been permitted in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. And here suicidal tourism flourishes, mainly the citizens of England and Germany, knowing in which countries euthanasia is allowed, go to Zurich for a lethal injection. Thanks to the softness of local laws, people literally stand in line for the opportunity to die. And until 2011, to the question: “In which countries is euthanasia permitted for healthy people, that is, not for terminally ill patients?” - the Swiss had the answer: "In Zurich." The rebellious public forced the government to adopt the relevant amendments, and now only seriously ill citizens of the whole world can face death here.
In 2016, Canada lifted a ban on helping a doctor commit suicide for terminally ill patients. Now the bill is undergoing formal approval. However, according to it, not all patients can get this right, but only degenerative ones, that is, those whose tragic end is near and undeniable. That is, for example, suffering from multiple sclerosis can not be helped by the law, as well as those who suffer from severe pain without specific predictions of how many people will live.
Points for and against
All over the world, opponents and supporters of euthanasia have given undeniable arguments in defense of their position. And such a complex and serious question for each argument for has the opposite argument against.
And the first argument for euthanasia suggests that life is good only when it makes sense and brings happiness, which terminal patients, for example, are definitely deprived of. A nasty argument suggests that the choice is not between a happy and unhappy life, but between existence in principle and its cessation in any form. Undoubtedly, ending a life is difficult to consider a blessing.
Euthanasia is also spoken by those who know how expensive and difficult it is to support the life of a seriously ill person or a person with a disability and coma. Especially if you try to ensure a normal quality of life. Opponents usually respond that the economic aspect still does not allow reconciliation of the killing with the moral and ethical standards of modern mankind.
Knowing in which countries euthanasia is permitted and why, it is difficult to disagree that these are developed and prosperous countries with a high standard of living, where exactly the quality of this life comes first. And the loss of this quality entails a loss of interest in life as such. Perhaps this explains the loyal laws that allow euthanasia to be applied to children or patients not in the terminal stage of the disease.
Opinion of the public and doctors about the problem
Despite the fact that public figures, politicians, and the medical world deny euthanasia in the vast majority of countries, the public as a whole is not opposed to such an idea. So, according to a survey of Russian Internet users, 50 percent of respondents do not see anything terrible in euthanasia and consider it one of the human rights to freedom of choice.
Psychologists believe that this is due to the personal attitudes of most people who, in the case of an incurable disease, would not want to become a burden to relatives and experience torment.
Surveys of medical portals among young doctors show a similar division in the professional sphere - only half of the respondents in general for the use of euthanasia, including in Russia.
The most high-profile cases in the modern world
In 1939, the famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud voluntarily passed away with the assistance of his doctor. Freud suffered from an incurable form of oral cancer, and before he died, he underwent more than 30 tumor removal operations. Moreover, they were carried out under local anesthesia, since then general anesthesia in such cases has not yet been used.
The Belgian writer Hugo Klaus, using the loyal laws of his country, accepted euthanasia, although he had only the first stage of cancer. But the French teacher Chantal Sebir, whose face was disfigured by a rare form of the tumor, having not received the right to voluntarily leave life in her native country, intended to go to Switzerland, knowing in which countries human euthanasia was allowed. However, in 2008, she committed suicide by injecting barbiturates.
A loud scandal was also caused by the euthanasia of two brothers-cobblers, who began to lose their eyesight and were unable to reconcile themselves with the fact that they would never see each other again. Despite the absence of a serious illness, they received fatal injections in Switzerland.