Euthanasia, Consensual Homicide, and Refusal or Treatment

EDUARDO RIVERA LÓPEZ

Würzburg

Conferencia; Sterbehilfe, Tötung auf Verlangen und verweigerte Einwilligung; 2023

Uniersidad de Würzburg, Juristische Fakultät

In jurisdictions in which active voluntary euthanasia has been legalized, consensual homicide remains a crime. At the same time, jurisdictions in which euthanasia is legal as well as those in which it is illegal recognize that all patients (whether terminally ill or not) have the right to refuse or discontinue medical treatments (including life-saving treatments). In this paper, I focus on the tensions between these three norms (right to active euthanasia, right to rejection of life-saving treatments, and prohibition of consented homicide), assuming a justification of euthanasia based on the right to autonomy. I argue that the best way to account for these norms coherently is to claim that there are two different rights involved: the right to autonomy and the right to bodily integrity. This solution has some relevant implications for the discussion of the legalization of active euthanasia.