Civil and Ethical Perspectives of Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide

Borovecki, A., Curkovic, M., Nikodem, K., Oreskovic, S., Novak, M., Rubic, F., ... & Gastmans, C. (2022). Attitudes about withholding or withdrawing life-prolonging treatment, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and physician-assisted suicide: a cross-sectional survey among the general public in Croatia. BMC Medical Ethics, 23(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-022-00751-6

The authors of this study carried out a cross-sectional survey involving 1,203 adult citizens of Croatia to establish their views on factors such as withholding or withdrawing of life-extending treatment, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). The investigation established that Croatian citizens have low acceptability towards these end-of-life practices, and the differences depend on age, education, political affiliation, and urbanization. To propel our argument, younger and middle-aged adults with higher education and liberal news attitudes had more approval for euthanasia, but only a small percentage approved of assisted suicide. The study is reliable because of the methods used in the research design and analysis, including the use of stratified random sampling techniques and the use of analytical techniques such as Analysis of Variance and Multiple Regression Analysis. The authors, who specialize in medical ethics and public health, provide a focused and coherent analysis of the procedural data. The extensive data analysis provides valuable information for additional quantitative comparative research with differing views on PAS from around the world and how societal factors influence ethical choices in the terminally ill.

Madadin, M., Al Sahwan, H. S., Altarouti, K. K., Altarouti, S. A., Al Eswaikt, Z. S., & Menezes, R. G. (2020). The Islamic perspective on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Medicine, Science and the Law, 60(4), 278-286. https://doi.org/10.1177/0025802420934241

The authors conducted a comprehensive narrative literature review of the Islamic perception of PAS and euthanasia, supported by the corresponding religious references, namely the Quran and Hadith. The review continues the fact that all Islamic teachings forbid PAS and euthanasia, as life belongs to God, and people cannot take it. The authors also review the state of legislation in Islamic countries where such acts continue to be criminalized and are regarded as either suicides or homicides. The consideration of the civil, ethical, and legal perspectives of the issue guarantees the overall view on the position of Islam. A degree of weight is provided for the analysis by the authors, who specialize in forensic medicine and Islamic law. As such, this source is invaluable for comparative analysis of religion in bioethics debates. It offers a sociopolitical analysis of how religion informs the legal and medical System concerning patients’ rights to die.

In a cross-sectional study, Reichel et al. conducted a survey of physicians and medical students to determine their viewpoints regarding PAS for patients suffering from mental illness. The research employed a case vignette where a chronically depressed patient is seeking PAS and showed that the majority of respondents had hesitation in approving the same, arguing that it was unethical and would compromise the trust society has in doctors. The study employed generalized ordinal regression and qualitative processes, and this improved the credibility of the study. The large sample size of 1,478 participants also justifies the conclusion since they obtained statistically significant results, which helped them generalize their findings. The use of analysis by the authors with affiliation to reputable medical and academic institutions gives credence to the work. Therefore, the study adds value in enhancing the knowledge on the subject of PAS, especially within mental health care settings where ethical issues of concern may not overlap with physical health. In that regard, the findings of the study underscore the need for an ethical debate on PAS in mentally ill patients and make the work informative and helpful for policymakers, ethicists, and, generally, healthcare providers.