Will suicide be allowed in the future?

Active euthanasia prohibited - aiding suicide?

02/17/2011

Euthanasia is still a highly controversial subject. Although doctors are generally not allowed to provide active euthanasia, the German Medical Association no longer rates the aid for suicide as unethical. For a long time there is no legal basis for the so-called euthanasia, but the doctors will no longer automatically be responsible for violations of ethical principles in front of the German Medical Association. „If physicians are at peace with themselves, then we do not break the bar over them ", commented the physicians president Jörg Dietrich Hoppe on Thursday in Berlin the revision of the principles for euthanasia.

Assisted suicide will no longer be unethical
Euthanasia, in the sense of assisting the suicide of terminally ill patients, will in future no longer be rated as unethical by the German Medical Association, but only as „no medical task“. Thus, the German Medical Association has opened the doctors a back door for individual cases in which they „Assistance to suicide“ consider ethically acceptable. To be sure, the new wording so far only concerns the orientation aid „Principles of the German Medical Association on medical care“ and has no legal connotation, but it does reflect an altered attitude, in which aid for suicide is no longer fundamentally excluded. The medical standard, which forms practically the legal basis of the doctors, forbids beside the active euthanasia for the time being also the assistance to the suicide, however plans the Federal Medical Association a revision, which could be decided already on the German physician day end of May in Kiel. The current adjustments in guidance will in all likelihood form the basis of future regulation. In plain English: Active euthanasia remains banned, the „Assistance to suicide“ may be allowed under certain circumstances.

Active euthanasia continues to be prohibited and punishable
With the new formulation, the German Medical Association is trying to address the problem of terminally ill patients who ask their doctors for a quick death or failure to take medical measures to rescue them. As an example, doctors president Jörg-Dietrich Hoppe called the case of a doctor who did nothing after he discovered that his terminally ill patient had taken large amounts of hypnotics for suicide. According to the medical president, this procedure will in future be covered by the new wording, but active euthanasia will continue to be prohibited in principle. „The killing of the patient, however, is punishable, even if it takes place at the request of the patient“, so the wording in the „Principles of the German Medical Association on medical care“.

Case law on euthanasia
The discussion on euthanasia is boiled again in January 2010 after the suicide of the cancer doctor Mechthild Bach. The doctor from Hanover had to answer in the nationwide most well-known euthanasia process on suspicion of killing 13 patients, but had always emphasized not having used any life-shortening measures in the patients. After an interim review of the district court of Hanover, in which the assessment for the defendant turned out relatively bad, the cancer doctor took the end of January, the life. This also ended the process that physicians and those affected had hoped for clarifying the legal assessment of euthanasia. The legislation has been trying for years, here to develop a regulation in the interests of those affected and had recently in a landmark judgment of the Federal Court (file number: Federal Court 2 StR 454/09) from June 2010, the right of self-determination of the patient strengthened.

Euthanasia regulation should take into account patients' rights
In its ruling, the Federal Court of Justice emphasized that the consent of the patient (with full awareness) justifies the omission of further life-sustaining measures as well as the active cessation or prevention of medical treatment which the patient no longer wishes or no longer wishes. This also applies to patients who, in a living will or in a verbal statement, determined the cessation of life-sustaining measures before they fell into a state that was no longer able to consent. The German Medical Association has now taken the first steps with the adaptation of the wording in the principles of medical care to transfer the recent case law in the interests of the patients and the treating physicians into practice. For physicians, the wishes of their patients are often a significant moral dilemma. They would like to help, but their hands are legally bound. Last year, a survey revealed that every third doctor has been asked to help with suicide and that 30% of physicians surveyed want legislation that allows such aid.

Principles include for the first time „veto“ dead children
For the first time, the German Medical Association has also explicitly dedicated a chapter to the care of seriously ill and dying children when reformulating the guidance on terminal care. These should be based on the new regulation „regularly and in accordance with their level of development in the decisions that affect them“. If the minors reach an age when they are able to understand and assess the importance and scope of the medical procedure, they too „veto“, so the new formulation in the principles of medical care. Should the will of a young person be in conflict with that of his parents, a family court has to decide in case of doubt, said the German Medical Association. (Fp)

Read about euthanasia:
Indignation about euthanasia clinic
Palliative medicine: doctors decide on death
Every third doctor is open to euthanasia
Ex-Justice Senator Kusch founds euthanasia e.V.

Image: Jetti Kuhlemann