Physician Assisted Suicide Law and Legal Definition
Physician assisted suicide is the voluntary termination of one’s own life by taking lethal medication with the direct or indirect assistance of a physician. Physician-assisted suicide is also referred to as active euthanasia. It differs from withholding or discontinuing medical treatment in circumstances that will result in death. Withholding or discontinuing medical treatment is sometimes called passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia is generally accepted, although not without controversy, in the United States as an individual's right to refuse medical treatment.
