Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and Human Rights: A Comparative Case Law Study

Judges have played a leading role in the decriminalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in several countries. Since the 1990s, they have promoted the annulment or restriction of norms that punish mercy killing and assisted suicide and have contributed to the development of the ethicallegal fou...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Buriticá-Arango, Esteban
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:Perú
Institución:Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Repositorio:Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/27758
Acceso en línea:http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/derechopucp/article/view/27758
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Euthanasia
Assisted Suicide
Dignified Death
Assisted Death
Fundamental Rights
Eutanasia
Suicidio Asistido
Muerte Digna
Muerte Asistida
Derechos Fundamentales
Descripción
Sumario:Judges have played a leading role in the decriminalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in several countries. Since the 1990s, they have promoted the annulment or restriction of norms that punish mercy killing and assisted suicide and have contributed to the development of the ethicallegal foundations of assisted death procedures. However, in each country, the judges have attributed very different scope, nature and foundations to the right to assisted death. In this article I analyze three main differences, related to the conditions that give access to medical care, the fundamental rights that support it and its nature as a subjective right. I conclude that the right to assisted death can be, depending on the country, a privilege, an immunity or a claim, often based on different—and incompatible— interpretations of fundamental rights and with variable applicability.