Assisted suicide

Assisted suicide is the process by which a person, with the assistance of a medical professional, takes actions to end their life. This practice is strictly regulated by the laws and rules of the state or country that a person lives in. The physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs. This practice falls under the concept of the medical right to die (i.e., the right of a person to choose when and how they will die, either through medical aid in dying or refusing life-saving medical treatment). While assisted suicide is not legal in all countries, it is legal under certain circumstances in some countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Jersey, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal (law not yet in force, awaiting regulation), Spain, Switzerland, and parts of the United States. The constitutional courts of Colombia, Estonia and Italy have legalized assisted suicide, but their legislatures have not yet legislated or regulated the practice.