Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia – who are the vulnerable?

Abstract

The most widely voiced concern about physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia is the risk that they pose to the wider community and the vulnerable, if legalised. No matter how well intentioned are the creators of the initial safeguards of PAS or euthanasia, there seems to be no sustainable way to maintain restrictions on them. It is pertinent, then, to examine the ways in which the legalisation of PAS or euthanasia, in their ever-broadening scope, might increase vulnerability to suicide and decrease the safety of members of a community.