The word "euthanasia" in Greek means "good death." This is the killing of a terminally ill person in one way or another in order to end his suffering. The issue of legalizing euthanasia has repeatedly been raised both in Russia and in other countries.
Types of Euthanasia
In order to answer the question of whether euthanasia is legal in Russia, it is necessary to determine the accuracy of the terminology. The fact is that there is the so-called passive and active euthanasia.
Passive euthanasia is called disconnecting the patient from the apparatus or stopping the supply of drugs that artificially support the patient's life. For example, an artificial respiration apparatus.
Active euthanasia is the killing of a patient in which a doctor or anyone else is directly involved. For example, the intentional introduction of a lethal dose of certain drugs to a patient.
Active euthanasia is prohibited by law in Russia on the basis of Article 45 of Federal Law No. 323 "On the Basics of Protecting Citizens' Health in the Russian Federation" According to the text of this document, the doctor does not have the right "to satisfy the patient’s requests to accelerate his death by any action or means." At the same time, “voluntary refusal of medical care” is not prohibited, which automatically implies the completely legitimate possibility of passive euthanasia.
Opponents of the legalization of euthanasia are confident that in Russia such a permit can lead to many abuses.
International law
In a number of countries, euthanasia is permitted by law. The first country to legalize the voluntary renunciation of life for terminally ill patients suffering unbearable suffering was the Netherlands. Euthanasia was authorized by decision of the Supreme Court of the country in 1984. Since 2002, the Belgian legislators have made the same decision. Another country where you can legally safely die with the help of a doctor is Luxembourg.
In the United States, in some states, euthanasia is permissible, while in others it is prosecuted. So, in the states of Oregon and Washington, doctors have the right to assist terminally ill patients with suicide. At the same time, Georgia has a special law prohibiting euthanasia.
In 1991-1992, a survey was conducted among Russian doctors on the topic "Do you support euthanasia." 49% of doctors aged 21-30 answered “Yes”.
