Educational Resource
Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Beyond Terminal Illness (2018)
Fact Sheet on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Beyond Terminal Illness, February 19, 2018
This USCCB fact sheet argues that physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia laws, even when initially limited to terminally ill patients, tend to expand over time to include broader groups such as people with chronic illnesses, disabilities, mental health conditions, and the elderly. The document presents this as evidence of a “slippery slope.”
This fact sheet contends that assisted-suicide and euthanasia laws are difficult to confine to terminally ill patients. It argues that such policies gradually expand to cover broader categories of suffering, that terminal prognoses are inherently uncertain, and that legalization may have wider social effects, including increased acceptance of suicide and higher overall suicide rates.
Key arguments
- Expansion beyond terminal illness in other countries. The document cites examples from Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands where assisted suicide or euthanasia has been used for reasons beyond imminent terminal illness, including psychological suffering, dementia, disability, and feelings associated with old age.
- Belgium and the Netherlands as examples: Belgium permits euthanasia for psychological suffering and that patients with depression, personality disorders, and autism-spectrum conditions have received euthanasia. It also describes developments in the Netherlands, including euthanasia for psychological suffering, newborns with severe disabilities under the Groningen Protocol, and patients who are “tired of living.”
- Concerns raised by some euthanasia supporters. The document cites comments from Dutch physician Boudewijn Chabot, a longstanding euthanasia advocate, who argued that euthanasia practices in the Netherlands had expanded significantly and that legal safeguards had weakened over time.
- Difficulty defining “terminal illness”: Prognoses about life expectancy are often uncertain. It cites Oregon data showing that some patients approved for assisted suicide lived far longer than six months and references studies finding substantial inaccuracies in terminal prognoses.
- Broadening efforts in the United States: The fact sheet points to statements by assisted-suicide advocates and language in proposed legislation and legal cases that, in its view, move beyond narrowly defined terminal illness toward eligibility based on chronic illness, disability, or subjective suffering.
- Historical examples: The document discusses Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s assisted suicides, noting that many of the individuals involved were not terminally ill, and cites comments from right-to-die advocates regarding elderly people in nursing homes.
- Effects on broader suicide rates: The fact sheet argues that favorable publicity surrounding assisted suicide can encourage additional suicides. It cites World Health Organization concerns about media portrayals of suicide, studies following publication of suicide manuals such as Final Exit, and research suggesting that legalization of physician-assisted suicide may be associated with increased overall suicide rates rather than replacing other forms of suicide.