Legal Definitions - right to die

The right to die refers to the legal and ethical principle that allows a terminally ill individual to refuse medical treatment that would prolong their life, thereby choosing to hasten their natural death.

This right is rooted in the concept of personal autonomy and the ability of individuals to make decisions about their own bodies and end-of-life care. It specifically applies to situations where a person is facing an incurable, fatal illness and wishes to avoid further suffering or a prolonged dying process by declining interventions that would otherwise keep them alive.

Here are some examples illustrating the right to die:

• Refusal of Mechanical Ventilation: Imagine an elderly patient, Mr. Henderson, who has been diagnosed with aggressive, untreatable lung cancer that has spread extensively. His doctors inform him that he has only a few weeks to live and his breathing is becoming increasingly difficult. The medical team suggests placing him on a ventilator to support his respiration.

  Illustration: Mr. Henderson, of sound mind, decides to refuse the ventilator. He understands that without this life-sustaining treatment, his death will occur sooner, but he wishes to avoid the discomfort and invasiveness of mechanical ventilation in his final days. This decision exemplifies his "right to die" by declining a medical intervention that would prolong his life while he is terminally ill.

• Cessation of Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: Consider Ms. Davies, who has been battling a rapidly progressing neurodegenerative disease for several years. Her condition has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer swallow safely, and her doctors confirm she is in the final stages of her illness with no hope of recovery. The medical team proposes inserting a feeding tube to provide artificial nutrition and hydration.

  Illustration: Ms. Davies, having previously expressed her wishes in an advance directive, or communicating them while still able, refuses the feeding tube. She accepts that this will lead to her death from dehydration and starvation, but she views it as a way to achieve a peaceful and dignified end, consistent with her "right to die" by refusing life-sustaining artificial support.

• Discontinuation of Dialysis: Sarah, a 68-year-old woman, has been receiving dialysis treatments for end-stage kidney disease for several years. She recently received a new diagnosis of aggressive, metastatic pancreatic cancer with a prognosis of only a few months to live. The combined burden of her cancer, its symptoms, and the demanding dialysis schedule has severely diminished her quality of life.

  Illustration: Sarah decides to stop her dialysis treatments. While dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment for her kidney failure, and stopping it will hasten her death, she is also terminally ill with cancer. Her decision to cease dialysis falls under her "right to die," as she is refusing a life-sustaining medical intervention in the context of a terminal illness to achieve a peaceful end.