Developing the criminal law on homicide : euthanasia and assisted suicide

Abstract

One of the most important public policy debates today surrounds the issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The outcome of these debates will profoundly affect family relationships, interaction between doctors and patients, and concepts of basic ethical behaviour. This work attempts to analyse the ethical issues underlying this debate on the subject of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The first chapter deals with euthanasia and its history, starting from early times and primitive people to the present day. This chapter also outlines the role of a physician and legal and ethical duties attached to such a profession. It goes into the moral principles, which over the years have won a general acceptance as applicable in the moral analysis of ethical issues in medicine. The second chapter discusses the different types of euthanasia and criminal responsibility such an act carries, whilst chapter three discusses physician-assisted suicide and various case-law on the subject. The fourth chapter deals with various jurisdictions, the position at law with respect to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The thesis then proceeds to giving a description of the situation under Maltese law on the subject and discusses whether or not a reform to the law is necessary. In this thesis, reference is made to the physician and the latter's responsibility and liability. However this is to be understood as to include all members of the medical team attending the patient. Any health care professionals, including nurses, who participate in decisions which bring about the death of a patient, may equally be held liable and responsible. The legal duty of such nurses and other health care professionals is to carry out the physician's orders with requisite skill, however this fact does not avoid imputability. Also, throughout this work, reference is made exclusively to the male gender; however this is to be understood as incorporating also the female gender.