Colombia just legalized euthanasia. Here's why that's a big deal
Colombia just legalized euthanasia. Here's why that's a big deal
Simeon Tegel
on Apr 29, 2015 @ 12:15 AM
LIMA, Peru — Should a doctor be allowed to take a patient’s life? Colombia just said yes.
Terminally ill adults there can now ask a physician to end their lives for them, after the South American country’s Health Ministry last week made that right legally binding.
This is momentous — and highly controversial. It makes Colombia only the fourth nation in the world to allow euthanasia.
Euthanasia is different from medically assisted suicide, which is legal in many places. In assisted death, a doctor prescribes life-ending medication, typically pills, but the patient is the one who takes it. Euthanasia is when a third party actually administers the fatal dose, usually by injection. That raises all kinds of ethical questions.
More:
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6531675/2015/04/28/colombia-euthanasia
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