ASSISTED DYING
What is medically assisted dying?
Medically assisted dying (MAD) for humans is a highly regulated practice that involves a medical practitioner intentionally helping a person end their life at the person's voluntary request.
Medically assisted dying is a voluntary process that can take two forms, namely:
Medically-assisted self-administered death or dying (assisted suicide) where a doctor or authorised medical practitioner provides or prescribes a lethal medication, which the patient self-administers to bring about their own death. This is currently legal in Switzerland, Germany, and some states in North America.
Medically-assisted physician-administered death or dying, where a doctor or authorised medical practitioner administers the lethal substance to the patient directly, at the patient's explicit request. This is currently legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Canada, Columbia, Ecuador, Australia, and New Zealand.
The terminology and specific legal practices vary significantly across different countries and jurisdictions.